Bitcoin Mining Pool AntPool to Refund Record $3.1 Million Transaction Fee

By: Eliza Bennet

In a rare turn of events, Bitcoin mining pool AntPool has announced it will refund a record transaction fee of 83 BTC, over $3 million, mistakenly paid by a user. This hefty fee planted itself in a single transaction recently, and has since set a new record for transaction fees on the blockchain network.

AntPool explained its risk control system recognized this unusually high fee during the transaction process, causing a temporary freeze on it. The mining pool has asked the owner of the large sum to reach out before Dec. 10, 2023, and verify their identity to claim the refund. A verification tool, like Electrum or Bitcoin Core, will be used to sign the message "AntPool" with the private key of the BTC address involved in the transaction. This signed text should then be sent to the mining pool's support email.

The rightful fund owner indeed emerged on social media, primarily known as 83_5BTC. Upon establishing proof of the funds' ownership, they claim that they believe an abnormal script was running on the wallet, leading to the odd fee calculation. Overall, this incident has highlighted the importance of careful fee calculations during crypto transactions.