Skip to main content

Dust

concept
blockchain
cryptocurrency
security

Dust is a tiny coin or token balance that is uneconomical to spend because fees or policy rules outweigh its value.

Also known as
Dust Limit
Dust Attack
UTXO Dust
1
concept

Dust is an amount so small that moving it is not worthwhile after fees, wallet policy, or minimum relay rules. In UTXO chains, dust usually means tiny outputs that cost more to spend than they are worth.

2
wallets

Wallets may hide dust, combine it during low-fee periods, or prevent users from creating dust outputs. Exchanges also set minimum withdrawal amounts to avoid producing unusable balances.

3
privacy

Dust can be used in privacy attacks. An attacker sends tiny outputs to many addresses and watches whether users later spend those outputs together, which can reveal common ownership.

Conceptual links

Related terms

2 linked

Explore connected entries beyond the alphabetical index.

All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.