The
minrelaytxfee
parameter defines the minimum transaction fee that a node is willing to relay to other nodes on the network. Typically set to 0.00001 BTC/kvB, which translates to a minimum of 1 sat/vB. This value determines the threshold for transaction propagation. To bump a transaction, the fee rate should be increased by at least 1 sat/vB.But what is the purpose of this parameter?
Is a transaction with a low fee truly spam? Even a transaction with a fee of 1 sat is better than nothing in case of non-full blocks. The 1 sat/vB threshold is arbitrary anyway. Simple transaction can cost around 140 sats at this rate. Given that 140 sats have significantly more value today than in the past, I think it might worth reevaluating this threshold.
Lowering the relay fee could open up new possibilities and improve incentives for optimization. Currently, mining pools often include transactions with fees lower than 1 sat/vB in their blocks.
Few examples just from today:
- https://mempool.space/tx/47be054cb5bf65387e972216c2e403040b50bc7449685c990ffeddbd0cc0d87f
- https://mempool.space/tx/c8fb770b81574cc51e7dbb5e9ab46aafd3ddc745346f1a0e4e3fc5fba6d477c2
- https://mempool.space/tx/c6eb5e7e3ad4f4d4525b17a4087be0d63d64c1c52e3dec8f8f9b540d71f48838
However, since nodes ignore these transactions, users are forced to go directly to miners, which hampers predictability.
Therefore I'm considering reducing the
minrelaytxfee
value by two orders of magnitude to 0.0000001, (0.01 sat/vB). In theory, this would allow me to broadcast transactions with total fees of 1-2 sats, rather than the current 140 sats.What are your thoughts on this?
fee
I meansum_of_outputs
-sum_of_inputs
fee rate
I meanfee
/tx_vsize
minrelaytxfee
specifies fee rate, not total fee.minrelaytxfee
is a subsidy to miners, so I could see criticism from people who think Bitcoin will have a security budget problem. Hash rate keeps climbing, though.