bitcoin-dev

TRUC and P2A for CTV fee management

Original Postby stutxo

Posted on: December 18, 2024 00:25 UTC

In exploring the nuances of OP_CTV (operational code for "securethebag"), a particular focus has been placed on the challenges presented by transaction fees.

The issue at hand is that the precommitment to a specific tree of outputs and inputs, as necessitated by OP_CTV, eliminates the possibility of using Replace-By-Fee (RBF) to adjust fee rates for unvaulting transactions dynamically. This limitation is notably discussed in the context of long-term coin vaulting, where the unpredictability of the fee market could pose significant issues.

Jamesob's work on a simple CTV vault highlights the sensitivity of the unvault process to fluctuations in the fee market, underscoring the intrinsic constraints of OP_CTV in adapting to these changes post-commitment. Rustyrussell's commentary on nostr further elaborates on these concerns, suggesting optimized sponsors as a potential solution to the fee addition dilemma without encouraging miner centralization.

With the introduction of v3 transactions in Bitcoin 28.0, new strategies have been enabled that promise to address these fee-related challenges. Specifically, the ability to bump fees using Child Pays For Parent (CPFP) on an anchor output, provided there's an output for 240 sats paying to a P2A address, offers a workaround to the fee adjustment issue inherent in OP_CTV transactions. Demonstrative examples of this method include a CTV spend transaction with zero fees and a subsequent P2A CPFP transaction to adjust fees, both conducted on Signet.

These developments suggest a pathway towards mitigating the fee market sensitivity of OP_CTV transactions through innovative use of Bitcoin's evolving transaction framework. However, questions remain regarding the broader applicability and potential downsides of this approach within the context of most CTV script spends, inviting further exploration and discussion among developers and practitioners in the field.