In January 2026, automated sweeper bots engaged in a high-cost competition to claim funds from a compromised Bitcoin address. The bots spent approximately $4,800 in transaction fees to secure a total of $12.67.
The target was a SegWit address with a private key derived from the coinbase transaction ID of Bitcoin block 924,982. Because this ID is publicly visible on the blockchain, the key was easily accessible to anyone using the appropriate script.
Two deposits totaling 0.00020305 BTC were sent to the address and immediately targeted by multiple bots. The bots utilized the replace-by-fee (RBF) mechanism to outbid each other, driving up transaction costs significantly.
Fee rates reached 12.8 sat/vB for the first sweep and 4.80 sat/vB for the second. While the bots incurred massive losses, the miners who processed these transactions were the primary beneficiaries of the inflated fees.
Researchers noted that such bidding wars, where costs exceed the prize by nearly 380 times, challenge the profitability of automated sweeping. Operators may need to implement stop-loss logic to prevent similar financial outcomes in the future.
