291 BTC transaction fee mistake?! No software double check is LOW TECH
Could proper programming have prevented this person from losing 291 bitcoins?
What actually happened was that last year someone changed the transaction fee for one reason or another and sent 291 BTC as an actual transaction fee! Worst thing about it is because it's a one-way transaction there is no refunds or charge backs or anything like that, once it's gone that is it. So a pool called BitClub was able to mine the block which had that actual huge of transaction fee stored within it and so they got the standard 25 BTC reward but they also got 291 BTC as a natural transaction processing fee. So a 316 BTC payday for those guys!
Some people have been speculating that someone put the funds through a Bitcoin mixer and somehow the mixing process has been confused and maybe they've done things backwards or something like that.
The pool emailed their entire list of subscribers and they put out a notification and have also contacted various crypto news networks, trying to trace the person that made this mistake and return the 291 BTC to the owner. BitClub stated that if no one claims then they would look to put those funds back into the Bitcoin community by using various different ways and means.
Double check! hehe
https://blockchain.info/tx/cc455ae816e6cdafdb58d54e35d4f46d860047458eacf1c7405dc634631c570d
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Oh man, that's a terrible mistake to make. I always feel paranoid about accidentally losing my cryptocurrency when I transact. It's always important to double and triple check your destination address and be sure of what fee you are using. Thankfully no major mishaps for me yet.
You said it right - "yet" can be best prevention. I don't know if something changed since than but there should be software features preventing these situations.