What Is “Double-Spending” and How Does RBF Relate to It?

Double-spending is the act of successfully spending the same cryptocurrency funds more than once. This is prevented by the blockchain's consensus mechanism and immutability.

RBF allows a user to replace an unconfirmed transaction with a new one, potentially to a different recipient. While RBF is not inherently double-spending, it can be exploited in zero-confirmation transactions to replace a payment.

What Are the Risks of Using RBF for a Sender or Receiver?
How Does the “Finality” Concept in Other Blockchains Differ from Bitcoin’s Confirmation Process?
What Is ‘Double-Spending’ and Why Is It a Core Concern of a 51% Attack?
Define ‘Double-Spending’ and Explain How the Blockchain Structure Prevents It
Explain the ‘Replace-By-Fee’ (RBF) Mechanism and Its Risk
In Financial Derivatives, What Risk Is Analogous to the Counterparty Risk of a Double-Spend?
What Is ‘Double-Spending’ and Why Is It the Main Concern of a 51% Attack?
What Is the Role of the Blockchain’s Consensus Mechanism in Preventing Double-Spending?

Glossar

Spending the Same Funds

Attempt ⎊ Spending the same funds, commonly known as a double-spend attack, involves an attempt by a malicious actor to use the same cryptocurrency units in two separate transactions.

Granting Spending Permission

Permission ⎊ Granting Spending Permission is the explicit, on-chain action by which a token holder authorizes a specific smart contract or external address to move a predetermined quantity of their fungible tokens.

Rbf Feature

Feature ⎊ Replace-By-Fee (RBF) is a protocol-level capability allowing a user to broadcast a subsequent transaction that replaces a previously unconfirmed one by paying a higher transaction fee.

UTXO Spending Rules

Principle ⎊ UTXO spending rules define the fundamental principle that every unit of cryptocurrency value must be spent entirely and explicitly referenced from a previous, unspent transaction output.

Treasury Spending Decisions

Allocation ⎊ Treasury Spending Decisions refer to the process by which a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) or foundation allocates its reserve capital, often held in native tokens or stablecoins, to various operational and strategic needs.

Spending Same Coins Twice

Error ⎊ This describes the fundamental security failure, known as a double-spend, where an attempt is made to use the same unspent transaction output in multiple conflicting transactions.

Spending UTXOs

Process ⎊ Spending UTXOs (Unspent Transaction Outputs) is the fundamental process in the Bitcoin and UTXO-based cryptocurrency model where a user selects one or more previously received, unspent transaction outputs to serve as the inputs for a new transaction.

Double Spending Solution

Integrity ⎊ The double spending solution is the critical mechanism within a cryptocurrency protocol that ensures a single digital unit cannot be simultaneously transferred to multiple recipients.

Rbf Enabled Deposits

Feature ⎊ RBF enabled deposits denote an incoming cryptocurrency transaction where the sender has explicitly signaled their intent to potentially replace the unconfirmed transaction with a new, conflicting version.

Peer to Peer Electronic Cash

Transfer ⎊ Peer to Peer Electronic Cash describes the foundational concept of a digital payment system that operates without reliance on a central authority for transaction validation or settlement.