🌽 How to Consolidate UTXOs for Lower Bitcoin Fees

Understanding the intricacies of Bitcoin's UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) system is crucial for efficient wallet management and cost-effective transactions.

UTXOs are the building blocks of Bitcoin transactions, representing all spendable bitcoins.
Each UTXO is a discrete, indivisible unit of value that can only be spent in its entirety (anything leftover is sent to a new UTXO as "change")

It's like having a single dollar bill that represents any amount.

And because of how Bitcoin fees work, you'd rather have one $100 bill than one hundred $1 bills.

To understand the math behind why small UTXOs are a huge problem check out this video on how Bitcoin fees work

The Importance of UTXO Consolidation

UTXO consolidation is the process of combining many small UTXOs into fewer, larger ones.

This is like exchanging your one hundred $1 bills for a single $100 bill. You'll benefit by reducing future transaction fees and simplifying your wallet management.

Somethings to consider:

1. It's important to consolidate during times of low network fees (that way you don't get demolished by fees)
2. Be aware of privacy considerations.

If you have your entire Bitcoin stack in a single UTXO, anyone who transacts with that UTXO will see your whole balance.

Example: I have 1 $1,000,000 UTXO and I want to spend $10 at the grocery store.

The grocery store owner will look at the transaction on the blockchain and see that I sent him $1,000,000.

He got $10 and I got $999,990 back as change (assuming no fees).

That $999,990 change transaction is public to anyone that has the transaction ID (in this case the grocery store owner)

In reality you probably wouldn't want everyone you transact with to know your net worth. Use this guide to consolidate, but don't over consolidate.

Step-by-Step UTXO Consolidation with Sparrow Wallet

Sparrow Wallet offers a great interface for UTXO consolidation. Here's how to consolidate your UTXOs using Sparrow Wallet:

1. Launch Sparrow Wallet: Open Sparrow Wallet on your computer and download the latest version to begin.
2. Generate a Receive Address: Use the "Receive" button to create a new address for your consolidated UTXOs. Take an address that has never been used before.
3. Sign a Message to Confirm Address: Before proceeding, it's important to confirm that the receive address generated in step 2 is a real address that is accessible from your hardware or software wallet. Use the "Sign Message" feature in Sparrow Wallet to sign a message with the generated address. This will confirm that you have control over the address and can receive funds at it.
4. Select UTXOs for Consolidation: In the "UTXOs" tab, choose the UTXOs you want to combine.
5. Create the Consolidation Transaction: Use the "Send Selected" option to start the transaction. Enter the address you generated in the "Pay To" field.
6. Optimize Fees: Sparrow Wallet lets you adjust your fee. Shoot to consolidate when fees are low to maximize savings. You can check out the current fees over on mempool.space. Don't set the fees too low or your transaction may never go through.
7. Confirm and Sign: Double-check the transaction details, and if all is correct, confirm and sign the transaction.

By following these steps on a regular basis your Bitcoin will be safe for the future!

Remember to consider the best timing for consolidation and use privacy-enhancing strategies when possible.

DM me over on Twitter @rhettre if you have any questions or want me to come up with a framework for proper UTXO sizing

If you want more help check out this full video guide: