TERM_DEF // UPGRADES_BIPS / BIP_326_ANTI_FEE_SNIPING_FOR_TAPROOT
BIP 326 (ANTI-FEE-SNIPING
FOR TAPROOT)
FOR TAPROOT)
BIP 326 (Anti-fee-sniping for Taproot). Recommended use of nLocktime to discourage one-block reorgs targeting your fees.
This page sits in the Upgrades & BIPs section — The proposal process and the major upgrades that shaped Bitcoin. Read on for what it is, why it exists, how it works under the hood, and what to watch out for.
This page sits in the Upgrades & BIPs section — The proposal process and the major upgrades that shaped Bitcoin. Read on for what it is, why it exists, how it works under the hood, and what to watch out for.
WHAT_BIP_326_ANTI_FEE_SNIPING_FOR_TAPROOT_IS
BIP 326 (Anti-fee-sniping for Taproot) — at a glance
UPGRADES
BIP 326 — "Anti-fee-sniping for Taproot" is a proposal in the Wallet UX family, first published in 2021 with status active. Recommended use of nLocktime to discourage one-block reorgs targeting your fees. Its technical mechanism: Taproot wallets set nLockTime to current height to disincentivise reorg-based fee theft. enabled by default in Bitcoin Core 22+ and most Taproot wallets
Why it exists
DESIGN
BIP 326 (Anti-fee-sniping for Taproot) exists to solve a specific problem: prevent fee-sniping by setting nLockTime to the current chain tip. Without a written, numbered spec, every wallet and node implementer would interpret the requirement differently — and Bitcoin's value depends on every implementation agreeing exactly. BIP-326 is the single source of truth for this concern, so any new client built today can match the behaviour of every client built since 2021.
HOW_IT_WORKS
Mechanism
HOW IT WORKS
Mechanically, BIP-326 taproot wallets set nLockTime to current height to disincentivise reorg-based fee theft. Adoption today: enabled by default in Bitcoin Core 22+ and most Taproot wallets.
1. Author drafts BIP-326 against the BIP-2 template — abstract, motivation, specification, rationale.
2. The text + a reference implementation are posted on the bitcoin-dev list and as a PR to bitcoin/bips.
3. Reviewers tear it apart: ambiguities, security concerns, edge cases, interaction with prior BIPs.
4. Once stable, the BIP editor merges it; it gets a number (BIP-326) and the status "draft" or "proposed".
5. Implementations land in Bitcoin Core / wallets / other clients. For consensus changes: activation parameters chosen.
6. After deployment + adoption, BIP-326 is promoted to "final"; deprecated proposals get "replaced" or "withdrawn".
WORKED_EXAMPLE
BIP-326 — quick reference card
EXAMPLE
BIP number : 326
Title : Anti-fee-sniping for Taproot
Area : Wallet UX
First published: 2021
Status : active
Fork class : no
Motivation : prevent fee-sniping by setting nLockTime to the current chain tip.
Mechanism : Taproot wallets set nLockTime to current height to disincentivise reorg-based fee theft.
Where it shows up : enabled by default in Bitcoin Core 22+ and most Taproot wallets.
Read the spec : https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0326.mediawiki
KEY_PROPERTIES
OPT-IN
No authority can force a BIP on anyone. Adoption depends entirely on whether the change is genuinely useful.
NUMBERED
Stable numeric reference — BIP-326 means the same thing across every wallet, miner, and node that has read this spec.
NON-CONSENSUS
BIP-326 is not a consensus rule — clients can implement it without coordinating with the network at large.
DEPLOYED
Implementations of BIP-326 are in production. The behaviour is observable on mainnet today.
COMMON_PITFALLS
Things that catch people out
PITFALLS
- Don't confuse "draft" / "proposed" / "final" status — read the BIP header before relying on it in production.
- The BIP number is just an editorial counter — it doesn't imply correctness or stability. Always cross-reference with the latest bitcoin/bips repo.
RELATED_CONCEPTS
Other terms from Upgrades & BIPs — click any to read its page:
TERMINOLOGY_INDEX
TERMINOLOGY
BIP 326 (Anti-fee-sniping for Taproot)
Recommended use of nLocktime to discourage one-block reorgs targeting your fees.
Segregated Witness (SegWit, BIP 141)
The 2017 upgrade separating witness-data/">witness data, fixing tx malleability, and introducing weight units.
Taproot (BIP 341)
Tapscript (BIP 342)
Script-language updates accompanying Taproot — new opcodes, removed limits.
Schnorr (BIP 340)
The Schnorr signature spec adopted by Taproot.
BIP Process
The community workflow for proposing, discussing, and tracking changes to Bitcoin.
Soft Fork Activation
MASF (Miner-Activated Soft Fork)
Activation triggered by miner signaling in block versions.