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UTXO

An "unspent coin piece" — Bitcoin balance is the sum of all UTXOs

Category: Concepts Also known as: 3 Related terms: 3

Definition

Unspent Transaction Output. Bitcoin doesn't store account balances; it stores discrete UTXOs. Your wallet's balance = sum of all UTXOs you can spend. Each UTXO has a value (sats) and an age (block when received).

Context anchor

A typical exchange hot-wallet holds 1,000–50,000 UTXOs; a personal cold wallet often <50

Example

An address with 14 UTXOs holds BTC across 14 separate 'coin pieces'

Also known as

utxounspent outputunspent transaction output

Related terms

  • Change AddressAn address that receives the "change" from a Bitcoin transaction
  • Fee RateCost paid per virtual byte to confirm a transaction (sat/vB)
  • SOPRSpent-Output Profit Ratio — were sold coins in profit or loss?