{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "how-to-send-bitcoin",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/how-to-send-bitcoin/",
  "collection": "bitcoin",
  "title": "How to send Bitcoin: review the destination, amount and fee",
  "description": "Follow a Bitcoin payment from a trusted request through amount and fee review, signing, broadcasting and confirmation.",
  "aliases": [
    "send bitcoin",
    "send bitcoin explained"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "Sending bitcoin means authorizing a transaction that spends suitable wallet outputs to the intended destination. Confirm the network, recipient, amount and total fee before signing, then track the submitted transaction. Signing, broadcasting and confirmation are separate events. Bitcoin has no ordinary chargeback instruction that retrieves a completed payment from its recipient.",
    "claimId": "how-to-send-bitcoin-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "x425-btc-dev-transactions",
      "x425-btc-core-sendtoaddress",
      "x425-btc-know"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Authorization",
      "value": "Signing satisfies spending conditions",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-dev-transactions"
      ],
      "id": "authorization",
      "claimId": "how-to-send-bitcoin-fact-authorization"
    },
    {
      "label": "Amount",
      "value": "Check what the recipient actually receives",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-core-sendtoaddress"
      ],
      "id": "amount",
      "claimId": "how-to-send-bitcoin-fact-amount"
    },
    {
      "label": "Completion",
      "value": "A submission response is earlier than confirmation",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-dev-payment-processing"
      ],
      "id": "completion",
      "claimId": "how-to-send-bitcoin-fact-completion"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "what-is-a-utxo",
    "bitcoin-fee-rate"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "prepare",
      "heading": "Start with an authenticated payment request",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-trezor-display",
        "x425-btc-bip321"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Get the request through a channel you trust. Copying a valid address is insufficient if it belongs to the wrong recipient. After pasting or scanning, inspect the wallet’s interpreted destination, route and amount. A QR code may contain more than a bare address.",
        "For a signing device with a trusted display, check the details on that device. A correct display can confirm what it signs; it cannot decide whether the merchant or request is legitimate."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "amount",
      "heading": "Separate the amount from the fee",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-core-sendtoaddress",
        "x425-btc-dev-transactions"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "For an illustrative 80,000-satoshi recipient output and 1,200-satoshi miner fee, the wallet must fund 81,200 satoshis before any change output is considered. If a fee-subtraction option instead deducts 1,200 from the entered 80,000, the recipient gets 78,800.",
        "The cited Core RPC documents this distinction explicitly. Wallet interfaces vary, so read the final recipient amount and total debit rather than assuming every amount field has the same meaning."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "submit",
      "heading": "Track the result before trying again",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-dev-payment-processing",
        "x425-btc-core-sendrawtransaction"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "After authorization, the signed transaction must reach nodes and be included in a block. Save the transaction identifier supplied by the wallet and compare the resulting output with the request. An application timeout can leave uncertainty about submission.",
        "Check the existing payment before creating another. A second transaction using different inputs could pay twice; it is not automatically a cancellation of the first."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Can I send a small test payment first?",
      "answer": "A separate small payment can test a destination and workflow, but it also costs a fee and does not authenticate a later changed request. Verify the final payment independently, including the full destination and amount.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-trezor-display",
        "x425-btc-dev-transactions"
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Why can the recipient receive less than the amount I typed?",
      "answer": "Some wallets or services subtract their fee from the entered amount. Core’s subtractfeefromamount option is one documented example. Read the final recipient output and the service quote before approving.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-core-sendtoaddress"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
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      "articleSlug": "how-to-send-bitcoin",
      "statement": "Sending bitcoin means authorizing a transaction that spends suitable wallet outputs to the intended destination. Confirm the network, recipient, amount and total fee before signing, then track the submitted transaction. Signing, broadcasting and confirmation are separate events. Bitcoin has no ordinary chargeback instruction that retrieves a completed payment from its recipient.",
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-b282fdecc069b74d",
          "locator": "Introduction; Spending An Output; P2PKH Script Validation; Multisig; Transaction Fees And Change; Avoiding Key Reuse"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-34552f149068cb49",
          "locator": "Description; Arguments: amount, comment, comment_to, subtractfeefromamount, fee_rate; Result"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-ba4dc8db91e16d53",
          "locator": "Bitcoin payments are irreversible; Unconfirmed transactions aren't secure; You are your own bank; Bitcoin is not anonymous"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "Educational explanation. Product-specific behavior is scoped to the cited documentation, checked 2026-10-02.",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Checked authorization, broadcast and inclusion as distinct events. Core29 subtractfeefromamount directly supports recipient-versus-debit distinction;81,200 and78,800 sats recomputed. A second payment with different inputs can duplicate payment rather than cancel it."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "how-to-send-bitcoin-fact-authorization",
      "articleSlug": "how-to-send-bitcoin",
      "statement": "Authorization: Signing satisfies spending conditions",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-b282fdecc069b74d"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-b282fdecc069b74d",
          "locator": "Introduction; Spending An Output; P2PKH Script Validation; Multisig; Transaction Fees And Change; Avoiding Key Reuse"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
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        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Checked authorization, broadcast and inclusion as distinct events. Core29 subtractfeefromamount directly supports recipient-versus-debit distinction;81,200 and78,800 sats recomputed. A second payment with different inputs can duplicate payment rather than cancel it."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "how-to-send-bitcoin-fact-amount",
      "articleSlug": "how-to-send-bitcoin",
      "statement": "Amount: Check what the recipient actually receives",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-34552f149068cb49"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-34552f149068cb49",
          "locator": "Description; Arguments: amount, comment, comment_to, subtractfeefromamount, fee_rate; Result"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
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        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Checked authorization, broadcast and inclusion as distinct events. Core29 subtractfeefromamount directly supports recipient-versus-debit distinction;81,200 and78,800 sats recomputed. A second payment with different inputs can duplicate payment rather than cancel it."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "how-to-send-bitcoin-fact-completion",
      "articleSlug": "how-to-send-bitcoin",
      "statement": "Completion: A submission response is earlier than confirmation",
      "sourceIds": [
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5100780ba9c0cc55",
          "locator": "Requesting Payments; Verifying Payment; Issuing Refunds"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
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        "notes": [
          "Checked authorization, broadcast and inclusion as distinct events. Core29 subtractfeefromamount directly supports recipient-versus-debit distinction;81,200 and78,800 sats recomputed. A second payment with different inputs can duplicate payment rather than cancel it."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-dev-transactions",
      "label": "Transactions",
      "publisher": "Bitcoin developer documentation",
      "url": "https://developer.bitcoin.org/devguide/transactions.html",
      "locator": "Introduction; Spending An Output; P2PKH Script Validation; Multisig; Transaction Fees And Change; Avoiding Key Reuse",
      "note": "Inputs, outputs, authorization, change, coinbase exceptions and fee accounting.",
      "version": "Developer guide; historical implementation details require qualification",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:53.759Z",
      "contentSha256": "2f3fc474d51880e6c7fd4c25f747f8d8d8da49a493ab82af8ff4916fa490d6b8",
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    {
      "id": "x425-btc-core-sendtoaddress",
      "label": "sendtoaddress RPC",
      "publisher": "Bitcoin Core",
      "url": "https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/29.0.0/rpc/wallet/sendtoaddress/",
      "locator": "Description; Arguments: amount, comment, comment_to, subtractfeefromamount, fee_rate; Result",
      "note": "Fee subtraction changes recipient output; comments remain local metadata.",
      "version": "Bitcoin Core 29.0 RPC reference; not a recommendation to install an old release",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:55.005Z",
      "contentSha256": "5a7533879c09df8fe7dac0c92fc30ef619b2c0ae9332ab6d388a9bde3e9a583b",
      "recordId": "source-34552f149068cb49"
    },
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-know",
      "label": "Some things you need to know",
      "publisher": "Bitcoin.org",
      "url": "https://bitcoin.org/en/you-need-to-know",
      "locator": "Bitcoin payments are irreversible; Unconfirmed transactions aren't secure; You are your own bank; Bitcoin is not anonymous",
      "note": "Payment reversibility, confirmation risk and visible transaction records.",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:53.609Z",
      "contentSha256": "929c698d3e96a7886d6e701b8d55470e6a3586d7eb525325e8993f9c56feb6c0",
      "recordId": "source-ba4dc8db91e16d53",
      "version": null
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    {
      "id": "x425-btc-dev-payment-processing",
      "label": "Payment Processing",
      "publisher": "Bitcoin developer documentation",
      "url": "https://developer.bitcoin.org/devguide/payment_processing.html",
      "locator": "Requesting Payments; Verifying Payment; Issuing Refunds",
      "note": "Payment request interpretation, confirmation checks and refund destination risks; historical protocol sections are dated.",
      "version": "Developer guide; historical implementation details require qualification",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:53.958Z",
      "contentSha256": "b65d66f9a2ea6dc98bfc010c0349afdb7a066b837f76248436322344dbb043f9",
      "recordId": "source-5100780ba9c0cc55"
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    {
      "id": "x425-btc-trezor-display",
      "label": "Trezor’s Trusted Display",
      "publisher": "Trezor",
      "url": "https://trezor.io/guides/trezor-devices/trezor-fundamentals/trezor-s-trusted-display-verify-every-address-on-your-device",
      "locator": "Trusted display article: on-device verification steps and limits of what the device verifies",
      "note": "Manufacturer explanation of device display checks and the limits of a host-computer screen.",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:56.900Z",
      "contentSha256": "b88fbc2dd8d7eb309d6c6aaba742dbedf7dec05e2ac57a230770e14bd2b2d14d",
      "recordId": "source-6d1aa1923394141c",
      "version": null
    },
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-bip321",
      "label": "URI Scheme",
      "publisher": "Bitcoin Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bitcoin/bips/927b6de9915c9262615a6399de51b200f81e5aa4/bip-0321.mediawiki",
      "locator": "General rules for handling (important!); General Format; Query Keys; Transfer amount; Forward compatibility; Backward compatibility",
      "note": "Successor payment URI scheme and wallet-dependent payment instructions.",
      "version": "Pinned BIPs revision",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:54.108Z",
      "contentSha256": "6fcb782620390c0a60958d983e0ca9ffbd67eadfba37169f94e1228028eee8c4",
      "recordId": "source-8d372ef951aaea6c"
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    {
      "id": "x425-btc-core-sendrawtransaction",
      "label": "sendrawtransaction RPC",
      "publisher": "Bitcoin Core",
      "url": "https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/29.0.0/rpc/rawtransactions/sendrawtransaction/",
      "locator": "Description; Arguments; Result",
      "note": "Submitting serialized signed transactions, fee guardrails and rebroadcast privacy warning.",
      "version": "Bitcoin Core 29.0 RPC reference; not a recommendation to install an old release",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:56.420Z",
      "contentSha256": "c1402d0c9c6677bd967fdd20dbb650991a8169c30e1a6598fbed3ac4defbd08a",
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  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "what-is-a-utxo",
      "bitcoin-fee-rate",
      "bitcoin-confirmations",
      "how-to-receive-bitcoin",
      "bitcoin-payment-requests-qr-codes"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “How to send Bitcoin: review the destination, amount and fee.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/how-to-send-bitcoin/"
}