Accelerating Bitcoin Transactions

Sometimes users of the Bitcoin network have to wait a long time for a transaction to be confirmed. This is because the blockchain mechanism is not perfect. Bitcoin uses the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm. Miners solve a cryptographic problem. To do this, they find a single hash value that satisfies the condition of the problem. In this case, someone alone finds a solution, and the rest check the correctness of the finding.

The popularity of bitcoin creates a high load on the network. Miners don’t always do their job. Moreover, a high network hash rate puts forward demands on the performance of the equipment. If at the beginning of Bitcoin’s existence, a home PC was enough for mining, now pools are doing this. They have access to inexpensive electricity and use powerful specialized equipment.

At the same time, the bitcoin block size is about 1 MB, it takes 10 minutes to mine it. This is a prerequisite laid down by Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious developer (s) of bitcoin. This time is enough to synchronize the entire blockchain.

The block contains transactions – information about transfers. All data that does not fit into the next block goes into standby mode, the so-called mem-pool. They are there until the miner takes up their confirmation. In this case, the priority is given to transactions with a higher commission.

Most often, you have to wait 20-50 minutes. Sometimes the transfer may freeze for a longer time, but this is during the period of maximum network load and with a small amount of commission. If the transaction is not confirmed within 14 days, it will be canceled.

You can check the status of the transfer on various resources, including blockchain.com. To check, you need to enter TxHash and view the details. The long-term presence of the translation in the mem-pool indicates a hang. It is necessary to use services for acceleration.

There are several ways to speed up BTC transfers:

• Replace-By-Fee.
• Child Pays for Parent.
• Services accelerators.
• Method of double-spending.

The method simply changes the pending transfer to another with a higher commission. This should reduce the time spent in the mem-pool and give a signal to the miner about the priority of the transaction.

Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned such an acceleration option in the early version of the bitcoin blockchain. However, it was subsequently turned off, and only after upgrading to the current RBF implementation was it back on the network.

There is no complete guarantee that the translation will be included in the next block. It all depends on whether the miner is using the appropriate function.

Another method to speed up a transaction with an interesting name is “a child pays for his parent.” As you know, coin transfers allow the return of change. If the user transfers 1BTC, and he needs to give 0.3, then he will receive 07 bitcoin back. Some cryptocurrency wallets allow you to spend this change before the first transfer is confirmed. The second transaction is called a child transaction, it allows you to speed up the first transfer. At the same time, miners will undertake confirmation, provided there is a sufficient commission. The essence of the method boils down to the fact that in order to process a profitable transaction, it is necessary to confirm the main operation.

If wallets do not support RBF, then the double-spend method can be used. This is an outdated option for speeding up transactions. The principle of operation is simple – the user creates a second transaction with a higher commission. The miner confirms the operation that is more profitable for himself, the rest are canceled.

Accelerators are special services. They differ depending on the methods used, but their essence boils down to one thing – re-sending the transfer to the blockchain until the transaction is confirmed.

Examples of accelerators:

• 360 Bitcoin Accelerator is a free service that uses a re-sending method.
• ViaBTC – the service operates in two modes: paid and free. In the first case, a successful result is guaranteed; for this, partner pools of miners are used. The free service has restrictions on the weight of the transaction and the minimum size of the commission.
• com is a completely paid service that guarantees a solution to the issue within 30 minutes (average time).

There are other services to speed up transfers. Some of them work from mining pools, providing a manual mode of enqueuing a transaction.

In order not to wait too long for the transfer, it is necessary to set a commission slightly higher than the recommended one when preparing the operation.