In a rare show of good faith, prominent itcoin">Bitcoin mining pool AntPool has agreed to refund the staggering $3 million transaction fee it mined last week resulting from a user error. However, AntPool stipulated that it would only release the funds after verifying the identity of the original owner through cryptographic signing before December 10.
The accidental fee, which occurred when a user tried to transfer 55.77 BTC ($2.1 million) but erroneously paid 83.65 BTC ($3.1 million), set a new record for the largest -fee paid for a single itcoin">Bitcoin transaction. The user claimed their wallet was hacked due to a low-entropy vulnerability, allowing the attacker to rapidly increase the transaction fee through replace-by-fee (RBF).
While AntPool could have legally kept the fee, the pool likely wants to avoid reputational damage from profiting off a victimized user’s mistake. By verifying the owner’s identity, AntPool aims to ensure the funds are returned to their rightful owner rather than rewarding malicious hacking activity. Still, doubts remain about whether the hackers themselves could falsify proof of ownership.
The highly unusual case demonstrates both ethical leadership among key industry players as well as the continued risks posed by itcoin">Bitcoin wallet vulnerabilities. As adoption spreads, boosting security and usability remains imperative.
#itcoin">Bitcoin #AntPool #MiningPool #Blockchain
