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Bitcoin Miner AntPool to Refund Record $3M BTC Transaction Fee

AntPool said it would verify the identity of the sender if they sign an on-chain message via another bitcoin transaction using the same message – which will prove ownership.

Updated Mar 8, 2024, 5:51 p.m. Published Nov 30, 2023, 1:03 p.m.
A bitcoin mining operation. (Eliza Gkritsi/CoinDesk)
A bitcoin mining operation. (Eliza Gkritsi/CoinDesk)

Bitcoin miner AntPool will refund a $3 million transactional fee that it processed last week after a likely user error led to the highest-ever fee paid for a transfer on the Bitcoin network.

“On November 23rd, some users submitted 83 BTC as a gas fee,” AntPool said in a Thursday announcement. “The risk control system of ANTPOOL temporarily froze the fee when packaging the transaction.”

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Miners are entities that utilize massive computing resources to process transactions on blockchains such as Bitcoin, receiving a predetermined reward each time they successfully mine a “block.”

Miners are not obligated to return fees to users but may choose to do so when the amounts are unusually large.

AntPool said it would verify the identity of the sender if they sign an on-chain message via another bitcoin transaction using the same message – which will prove ownership.

Last Thursday, AntPool received the standard 6.25 bitcoin (BTC) as well as 85.2163 BTC in fees for all transactions included in that erroneous transaction, on-chain data shows. The sender's wallet was set up just minutes before the transfer, and the recipient received only 55.78 BTC of the original 139.42 BTC that was sent.

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Exchange Review - March 2025

Exchange Review March 2025

CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.

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Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.

  • Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
  • Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions. 
  • Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.

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