In a stunning turn of events, an unusual bitcoin transaction has caught the attention of the cryptocurrency community and AntPool, one of the leading mining pools. A user accidentally paid a staggering $3 million in transaction fees for sending $2.1 million worth of bitcoin. The transaction, processed in block number 818,087, was flagged by AntPool’s risk control system due to the exorbitant gas fee, which is equivalent to 83 BTC, and the funds were subsequently frozen.
The incident occurred when a user known by the X (formerly Twitter) handle “83_5BTC” attempted to transfer 139 BTC to a new cold wallet. After the transfer, the user claimed that his wallet had been hacked, suggesting that an automated script with incorrect fee calculations might be responsible. This prompted a post-incident analysis by Mononaut, a pseudonymous developer behind Mempool, who confirmed the user’s claim through message signing. Mononaut highlighted the possibility of a security compromise, suggesting that attackers may have used a replace-by-fee (RBF) tactic to inflate transaction fees and accelerate the theft of funds. The analysis pointed to weak wallet security practices, such as the use of a low-entropy wallet like a brainwallet, as potential vulnerabilities.
In response to the incident, AntPool has outlined steps for the original owner to reclaim the funds. The owner must verify their identity using signature tools such as Electrum or Bitcoin Core with their private key. This process must be completed before December 10th to ensure that the rightful owner can reclaim the assets.
The costly mistake serves as a cautionary tale for bitcoin users, underscoring the importance of robust security measures and the need for vigilance in setting transaction fees. It also highlights the proactive measures mining pools, such as AntPool, are taking to monitor and respond to anomalous activity on the blockchain.
