Bitcoin Developers Weigh Removing Redundant RBF Signal to Improve Transaction Privacy

Replace-by-fee (RBF) allows users to replace an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with a version carrying a higher fee. Wallets previously had to signal this explicitly through nSequence. Bitcoin Core nodes now widely use full-RBF, accepting replacement transactions regardless of whether they carry the signal. That has stripped the legacy signal of its policy function and instead turned it into an on-chain fingerprint that can identify wallet software.

As of July 20, 2026, Bitcoin Core developers are considering removing explicit RBF signaling from the wallet software and standardizing the default nSequence value for transaction inputs to reduce the risk of user tracking. The proposal has no formally announced release version or fixed fee rate. Transaction fees would still be determined by prevailing sat/vB market rates, and users would retain the ability to resend transactions with higher fees.