3 Ways to Accelerate a “Stuck” Bitcoin Transaction

If your Bitcoin transaction isn’t being confirmed, rest assured, you’re not alone. Unconfirmed transactions in the Bitcoin mempool can stack up into the hundreds of thousands, leaving yours among many awaiting processing. If your transaction carries a low fee, you may find yourself waiting for days, weeks, or even months before it finally gets confirmed.

It’s also not uncommon for the Bitcoin network to become congested shortly after you’ve sent a transaction. This congestion can render the fee suggested by your wallet insufficient to prioritize your transaction in the upcoming blocks.

In this article, we’ll explore three methods to “accelerate” a Bitcoin transaction burdened by a low fee.

1. Transaction Accelerators

Numerous services and websites offer Bitcoin transaction acceleration, either for free or at an affordable cost. This is the simplest method to expedite a Bitcoin transaction, irrespective of its parameters. Below are some of the most reputable Bitcoin transaction acceleration services:

BitAccelerate stands out as one of the oldest and most reputable services in this realm. They provide basic acceleration for free. For those requiring even swifter confirmation or if the free option falls short, BitAccelerate offers a premium, paid alternative.

However, it’s worth noting a drawback to this approach: the prevalence of fraudulent services. There are numerous fraudulent services that deceive users by accepting payment without delivering the promised acceleration. Therefore, it’s imperative to exercise caution and opt for only established Bitcoin accelerators with solid reputations.

2. RBF (Replace-by-Fee)

RBF is a feature you can activate in your Bitcoin wallet for each transaction before it’s broadcasted. By doing so, you indicate that the transaction isn’t final and might be replaced by a similar one with a higher fee at a later point. All contemporary Bitcoin wallets support RBF.

This feature enables you to initiate a transaction with a low fee and, if necessary, increase the fee later if the transaction remains unconfirmed. Widely accepted as a standard practice, RBF represents the easiest and most secure method to expedite transaction confirmation without requiring technical expertise. The crucial step is remembering to designate your transactions as RBF within the Bitcoin wallet.

One drawback of this method is that the recipient of your payment may have less confidence in the transaction until it’s confirmed. This uncertainty arises from the fact that the transaction is considered non-final and subject to replacement. Additionally, there’s the limitation that some wallets still do not support RBF.

3. CPFP (Child Pays For Parent)

In this method, known as Child Pays For Parent (CPFP), to expedite a given transaction, termed the “parent,” a second transaction, the “child,” is published. This second transaction spends one of the outputs of the initial transaction with a higher fee. The objective is to ensure that the combined average fee of the two transactions is adequate relative to the prevailing market conditions of the Bitcoin network.

The advantage of CPFP is its universal applicability to all Bitcoin transactions, regardless of whether they are flagged with RBF or not. It empowers anyone to accelerate a transaction, provided they have control over at least one of its outputs. For instance, if you are the recipient of funds and the transaction bears a low fee, you can utilize CPFP to expedite it and promptly receive the funds.

However, the downside of CPFP lies in the necessity for the wallet being used to support spending outputs from unconfirmed transactions. Moreover, technical proficiency is required to accurately calculate the fee for the second transaction. Thankfully, an online CPFP calculator is readily available to simplify this process.

There are scenarios where the timely arrival of certain funds is crucial, often linked to contracts or deadlines, where the successful processing of specific transactions is imperative. In this article, we have outlined three methods to expedite the confirmation of a Bitcoin transaction. Choose the most appropriate one based on your circumstances and level of technical proficiency.