Author

Topic: Bitcoin lost, again and gain! (Read 748 times)

newbie
Activity: 59
Merit: 0
January 24, 2014, 04:53:40 PM
#5
Well that's a pretty awful infographic. Change:

Only the full amount of an input can be spent. If the exact amount of the transaction can’t be constructed from available inputs, an additional output, called change, is added, which sends the remainder back to a new address in the user’s wallet. Change addresses are not shown to the user.

http://we.lovebitco.in/img/transaction.png

Noobs need to stop looking at websites to get misleading info, and just use the Bitcoin software.

According to other experts at the link found in my post, the correct statement is, "An amount less than the full amount of the sum of all inputs can be spent," and this nuance is very important.  According to the discussion in the link, you most often transfer less than the sum of the inputs to all of the outputs, including "change" as an output.... the remainder, (Sum inputs) - (Sum Outputs) by default becomes the transaction fee.  That was how it was explained and what I was trying to show for a single input transaction with other simplifications in the graphic.  If this interpretation of the transaction fee mechanism is incorrect I would like to know.  If if is true, where is the transaction fee in your graphical explanation?

Also, "Change addresses are not shown to the user" may be too broad a statement.  The change address may not be obvious to all but in many simple transactions both the sender and receiver can figure out the change address.
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1036
January 24, 2014, 03:05:26 PM
#4
Well that's a pretty awful infographic. Change:

Only the full amount of an input can be spent. If the exact amount of the transaction can’t be constructed from available inputs, an additional output, called change, is added, which sends the remainder back to a new address in the user’s wallet. Change addresses are not shown to the user.



Noobs need to stop looking at websites to get misleading info, and just use the Bitcoin software.
newbie
Activity: 59
Merit: 0
January 24, 2014, 11:59:57 AM
#3
See https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/simple-transaction-signing-question-422021 for more detail and more technically correct description.  A simplified version of the transaction looks something like this.

https://i.imgur.com/jDvoJVr.png

I know of at least one case where someone did not understand that change could go back to a different address in their own wallet, they later trashed the wallet with out a recent backup and lost access to that address and many bitcoins of change.  Understand how things work and use backups.
legendary
Activity: 1890
Merit: 1086
Ian Knowles - CIYAM Lead Developer
January 24, 2014, 06:09:48 AM
#2
The fee paid was 0.005 (still rather generous - you might want to lower that to 0.0001) and the 4 BTC was presumably your *change* (you do understand about change?).
sr. member
Activity: 281
Merit: 250
Developer of Ultracopier and Supercopier
January 24, 2014, 06:05:43 AM
#1
Hello,

https://blockchain.info/address/1Mjsf9gQ2YxygnJ8rmSSsjG8jFECL6CiCd
Like you can see at my last transaction: https://blockchain.info/tx/6aa37d99b77e6de37f88ec17f7f6c4c1604a219679dd7c92d093a3a846985370
The fee is 4BTC, why? because i have put the bitcoin wallet in mBTC. I have send 1000mBTC, the fee of 5mBTC was transformed into 5BTC-1BTC (why?).
I'm with the client 0.8.6.0 not fully syncronised.

Cheers,
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