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Accelerate your Bitcoin transactions with RBF and Sparrow Wallet What is Replace-by-Fee (RBF)? Prerequisites Step-by-step: Using RBF in Sparrow Wallet After broadcasting Additional tips

Accelerate your Bitcoin transactions with RBF and Sparrow Wallet

Bitcoin transactions can sometimes experience delays, especially during periods of high network congestion. If your transaction is unconfirmed and you need it processed promptly, Replace-by-Fee (RBF) is a powerful feature that allows you to resend the transaction with a higher fee, increasing its priority for miners.

While the BitBoxApp doesn't currently support RBF directly, it prepares all transactions to be RBF-compatible. By integrating your BitBox02 with Sparrow Wallet, you can leverage RBF to expedite your transactions.

 

What is Replace-by-Fee (RBF)?

RBF enables you to replace an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with a new one that offers a higher fee. Miners prioritize transactions with higher fees, so this method increases the likelihood of quicker confirmation. When the new transaction is confirmed, it automatically invalidates the original pending one.

Important: Before proceeding, ensure that your transaction truly requires acceleration. It's common for transactions to take up to an hour to confirm, even with optimal fees. If your fee is only slightly below the current optimal rate, patience might be the best approach.

 

Prerequisites

Step-by-step: Using RBF in Sparrow Wallet

  1. Identify the unconfirmed transaction:
    1. Open Sparrow Wallet and navigate to the transaction overview.
    2. Locate the pending transaction you wish to accelerate.
  2. Initiate fee increase:
    1. Right-click on the transaction and select "Increase fee (RBF)".
  3. Set a new fee rate:
    1. In the dialog that appears, adjust the fee rate.
    2. You can use Sparrow Wallet's fee estimation by selecting "Target Blocks" and choosing your desired confirmation target (e.g., setting it to "1" aims for the next block).
    3. Alternatively, consult a Bitcoin fee estimator like mempool.space to determine current fee recommendations.
  4. Create the replacement transaction:
    1. After setting the new fee, click "Create transaction".
  5. Sign the transaction with BitBox02:
    1. On the confirmation screen, click "Sign".
    2. Select your BitBox02 device.
    3. Verify all transaction details and the new fee rate on the device screen.
    4. If everything is correct, confirm the transaction on your BitBox02.
  6. Broadcast the transaction:
    1. Click "Broadcast" to send the signed transaction to the Bitcoin network.

After broadcasting

Once the replacement transaction is broadcasted with a higher fee, it should be confirmed more quickly, often within the next block. If the network remains congested and the transaction is still unconfirmed, you can repeat the RBF process to further increase the fee.

Additional tips

  • Always double-check the recipient address and transaction details before confirming.
  • Be cautious with fee adjustments; setting excessively high fees can be costly.
  • Regularly update Sparrow Wallet and BitBox firmware to benefit from the latest features and security enhancements.

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