Useful tips on how to cancel blockchain unconfirmed transaction

macfranc007 October 24, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Francis Ladipo

Bitcoin mining is a great way to build up your capital, but it does come with a set of drawbacks. Even if you've developed an efficient way to generate new Bitcoins, you're still running the risk of getting your transaction "stuck" in the system. If you'd like to know how to cancel unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction, continue reading below!

Bitcoin unconfirmed transaction

In its essence, an unconfirmed transaction is one that hasn't become a part of a block yet and thus wasn't finished. There are several reasons why such an event occurs:

The operation was only recently made. Even in the best circumstances, it takes the market at least ten minutes to confirm the transaction.
Bitcoin is overflowing. As the network has its limits, often times, the number of users trying to conduct operations can be too large.
The fee included in the transaction was too low or not included entirely. The smaller the amount you've entered, the less chance of success it has.

Because of the rollercoaster that the Bitcoin's price has been on lately, it has become marginally harder to pick a fee that would suit you, while still having a guarantee that it would be confirmed withing a day. As a result, the number of blockchain unconfirmed transactions has been increasing for several months now.

Any transactions that you may submit that offer a low or subpar fee can remain on the market for hours or even days before they get picked up. In the worst case scenario, some Bitcoin transactions are "stuck" forever.

This may not be a noticeable problem for people that only make large BTC operations with a small number of input. However, if your goal is to perform minor transactions of just up to ten Bitcoin cents, or a bigger one but with more inputs, the market fees can seem daunting.

Logically, Bitcoin miners usually choose the best fees and use them to build their blocks. If your transaction hasn't made the fee cut, it continues to lay dormant in the mempool until it gets a chance in a new block. If it's still not good enough, it waits for another cycle, and so on and so on. It can be a vicious cycle. And with that being the case, it's no wonder that people start to ask the question "How to reverse an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction?"

First of all, before we tell you how to cancel the transaction, you have to know that it's not always possible and sometimes it's just left in a Bitcoin's form of purgatory for all eternity. However, when it is possible, these are the steps you need to take to cancel unconfirmed transaction from your BTC wallet:

Create a backup of wallet.dat;
Launch your wallet program;
Make sure that you run the program with "-zapwallettxes" feature turned on;
Go to the options menu;
Pick the field that allows you to delete all the hanging or stuck transactions that aren't involved with the blockchain;
Wait for a lengthy period of time while the system performs a rescan;
Before the next time you launch your wallet, delete the extra feature;
Voila, you're done!

If you perform these steps, you'll have a chance to create a new transaction using your previously unspent currency. Only now will you be able to raise the fees so that this time your transaction is confirmed. What this process means is that you're spending the same coins twice, with the second deal canceling out the first one.

Interesting fact: While the guide described above is designed for Bitcoin, in theory, it should work for other cryptocurrencies as well.

How to confirm bitcoin transaction

READ ALSO: Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme?

In some cases, you may find that your wallet doesn't have the zapwallettxes feature available. How do you cancel your transaction then? There are multiple ways to do that, but all of them are more complicated than the one described above. One of the options you have is to use the Pywallet, and another is to visit coinb.in or localbitcoins. Below you'll find a short guide on how to confirm a bitcoin transaction that has been stuck:

Visit coinb.in and select a tool that will allow you to recreate your operation with a more substantial fee.
Type in the same details as the ones used in the transaction that got "stuck" but leave it unsigned.
Go to "New transaction" section on the website and click the "Sign" tab.
Next, you'll have to go through a number of security checks. While annoying, this process is used for your own protection.
If you're using a passphrase, you'll need to launch your wallet's console and type in "walletpasphrase" to advance to the next step.
Now you need to get the unique key associated with your transaction. Type in dumpprivkey "bitcoinaddress" to obtain it and write it in on the website to finalize the signing.
Next, you'll need to broadcast your transaction. The option that works best is Bitcoin Block Explorer. If you weren't able to broadcast it, we recommend waiting for a couple of days before the unconfirmed transaction disappears from the mempool.
Once you've sent your second transaction into the world, the first one will be canceled. The only drawback you'll suffer is the difference in the fees.

Note: If you've used several wallets in creating the unconfirmed transaction, this process won't help you.

How to find Bitcoin transaction ID

What if you want to cancel a blockchain unconfirmed transaction, but forgot all the details? No worries. Here's how you can find out the ID of your operation:

Go to http://ift.tt/wELNUI;
Find the "Search" window and type in some info that applies to your transaction. Usually, you'll have to use the address you've sent the payment to;
Next, you'll see all the transactions that have been made to this address, with newer ones being at the top of the list;
Locate the necessary transaction and copy the ID that is presented in the form of letters and numbers;
To find out all the details that are needed to reverse a "stuck" transaction click the ID link window.

Now you have all the information about what steps you need to take to cancel a Bitcoin transaction and how to confirm it when it's stuck. If you have any fellow Bitcoin mining friends, feel free to share this article with them!

READ ALSO: Why Bitcoin mining is dead?