How ​​to Identify Replacement Fee (RBF) Transactions in Bitcoin Core

As a Bitcoin enthusiast, searching the mempool for specific transaction patterns can be useful for analyzing network behavior, optimizing node performance, or even identifying potential blockchain issues. One such pattern is the Replacement Fee (RBF) mechanism, which allows miners to update their on-chain transactions without incurring re-aggregation fees. However, this feature requires a methodical approach to identify cases where a transaction in the mempool is using RBF.

What is Replacement Fee (RBF)?

Bitcoin Core RBF is a mechanism that allows miners to update their transactions before they are included in the next block. When a miner adds a new transaction to the mempool, other nodes must verify it before it is accepted into the blockchain. If the added transaction is deemed invalid or does not have sufficient fees, it will be rejected and a re-aggregation fee will be charged. However, if a transaction meets the requirements, it can be added to the next block without activating a new mempool.

Is there a Bitcoin Core method that identifies RBF transactions in the mempool?

To identify transactions that use RBF, you will need to use a combination of manual analysis and programming. One approach is to store current transactions in the mempool and compare them with recently added transactions. Here is an example Python code snippet:

import requests
def check_rbf_transactions(mempool_url):





Initialize lists to store RBF transactions
rbf_transactions = []

Iterate through each transaction in mempool
for transaction mempool.get_transaction_list():

Check if the transaction uses replacement after fee (RBF)
if transaction.get('rbf'):

Append RBF transaction to list
rbf_transactions.append(transaction['data'])
return rbf_transactions

Usage example:
mempool_url = '
rfb_transactions = check_rbf_transactions(mempool_url)
print ("RBF transactions:")
i, transaction enumerate(rbf_transactions):
print(f"Transaction {i+1}: {transaction['data']}")

This code snippet uses the Bitcoin API to retrieve transactions from the mempool and verify RBF transactions. The “check_rbf_transactions” function takes a URL pointing to the mempool as input and returns a list of RBF transactions.

Manual Analysis

You can also perform manual analysis of the mempool data, comparing each transaction to the newly added ones. This approach requires significant manual effort, but provides accurate results. Here is an example Python code snippet:

def check_rbf_transactions_manual(mempool_url):

Initialize lists to store RBF transactions
rbf_transactions = []

Loop through each new transaction in mempool
i, transaction enumerate(mempool.get_transaction_list()):

Compare the current transaction with the newly added ones
if i > 0 and all(transaction['data'] != x['data'] for x in file mpool.get_transaction_list()[:i]):

Append RBF transaction to list
rbf_transactions.append(transaction)
return rbf_transactions

Usage example:
mempool_url = '
rfb_transactions = check_rbf_transactions_manual(mempool_url)
print ("RBF transactions (manual analysis):")
i, transaction enumerate(rfb_transactions):
print(f"Transaction {i+1}: {transaction['data']}")

This code snippet compares each new transaction with all previous ones to identify instances where the current transaction uses RBF.

Conclusion

Identifying transactions that use the replacement with fee (RBF) method is a complex task, but it can be achieved through a combination of manual analysis and programming.

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