What is UTXO? Blockchain - 004

What is UTXO? Blockchain - 004

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2 min read

UTXO stands for Unspent Transaction Output. Let’s understand this with an example, Suppose Jane(14UwWGHekdseWyQiHNUukPzCxD36R7Bh9A) transferred 10 Bitcoins to Alice. In this transfer process, the output transaction to Alice (Alice's BTC Address - 1ANFCGTSgVRiUjcp6V1sWdpZrSqtFomb4q) is called UTXO. So, UTXOs are just output.

Let’s assume that after receiving 10 Bitcoin, Alice’s updated balance is 496 Bitcoins which means Alice already had another UTXOs of 486 Bitcoins in her wallet that she might have received from others. When we combine all the UTXOs, it will give us the Total balance of a specific wallet address.

Miners keep track of the UTXOs in order to determine who owns how many bitcoins and who can spend them. This system enables Bitcoin to solve the Double Spending Problem.

The question remains, how did Jane get her Bitcoins in the First Place. That’s a great question, so let try to understand it.

How UTXOs are created?

UTXOs are created through the consumption of existing UTXOs. Every Bitcoin transaction is composed of inputs and outputs. Inputs consume an existing UTXO, while outputs create a new UTXO. So, if old UTXOs are destroyed to create new UTXOs, how are UTXOs created in the first place?

Every UTXO’s history can be traced back to one or more outputs of coinbase transactions. In Transacation id 23f1ebe4c92df964f4fdb8323c968e6b1c87a2a8e04ae8aa82e0d1e3a910b563, Jane(14U…..h9A) received 521 Bitcoins as a Change. In this transaction, ee09b64495bdf01f833421302c7faddc68720f2e01526e47c0bc189d0a04d94a was used as input to create new UTXO.

In Transacation id 'ee09b64495bdf01f833421302c7faddc68720f2e01526e47c0bc189d0a04d94a', Jane(14U…..h9A) received 529 Bitcoins as a Change. In this transaction, '6e8a661b17b0a62ac15e7c14e33afe24cfca206e18860dd29846c874420c14b9' was used as input to create new UTXO.

'6e8a661b17b0a62ac15e7c14e33afe24cfca206e18860dd29846c874420c14b9'(COINBASE) is the original transaction from which all other transactions originated.

I hope this article and video gave you some insights into Blockchain technology. If you have liked this article then do not forget to share it with your friends and connect with me on Twitter for quick updates on Blockchain and Web3 Technology.

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