AntPool, the Bitcoin Mining Giant, Set to Refund a Historic 3M Dollars Transaction Fee and Initiates Search for Claimant’s Identity

Crypto News– AntPool, a prominent Bitcoin mining pool, has recently made headlines with its decision to refund an astounding $3 million transaction fee. However, this refund comes with a condition— the rightful owner must confirm their identity by December 10, 2023.

AntPool, the Bitcoin Mining Giant, Set to Refund a Historic 3M Dollars Transaction Fee and Initiates Search for Claimant’s Identity

This noteworthy development stems from an inadvertent payment of an eye-watering 83.65 BTC (equivalent to $3.1 million) as a transaction fee. The user responsible for the error intended to transfer 55.77 BTC but ended up with this colossal fee. The incident unfolded in block 818,087, setting a new record for the highest USD fee in a single Bitcoin transaction.

Adding a layer of complexity to the situation, a user named “83_5BTC” emerged, claiming to be the victim of this exorbitant fee and attributing it to a wallet hack. The plot thickened when, after moving 139 BTC to a new cold wallet, the funds were swiftly transferred again. This has raised doubts about the authenticity of the claim, with concerns that the attacker might exploit the compromised wallet for ownership proof.

This intricate scenario has put AntPool’s risk control system to the test, prompting a temporary freeze on the fee and a call for identity verification using tools such as Electrum or Bitcoin Core. Notably, this incident is not isolated; in September, crypto services provider Paxos was responsible for a 20 BTC transaction fee due to a bug in a single transfer, later rectified as a “fat finger” mistake.