Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) is a core concept in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. It refers to all unspent coins that have been previously sent from one address to another on the blockchain network. UTXOs are used as inputs for new transactions, meaning they form the foundation of every transaction that takes place on a given blockchain network.
In technical terms, a UTXO can be defined as an output of a transaction which has not yet been spent as part of another transaction. Each UTXO is associated with an amount and an address, so when someone sends money or tokens to you it is recorded in your wallet as several different UTXOs each having their own unique identifier.
When sending cryptocurrencies from one address to another, users must use unspent outputs (from previous transactions) stored in their wallets rather than creating new ones by mining or through other means. This ensures that there is no double-spending and also prevents inflation since only existing coins can be moved around instead of newly created ones being added into circulation unnecessarily.
The total number of unspent outputs stored by individual users increases over time due to more frequent transactions taking place on the network. This means that wallets become heavier and more difficult to manage if too many UTXOs accumulate within them – something which could lead to synchronization issues if not addressed properly by developers who are responsible for maintaining these systems’ infrastructure.
To prevent this problem from occurring, some modern blockchains like Bitcoin allow users to group multiple small UTXOs together into what’s known as “Coin Selection” – allowing them combine smaller denominations into larger chunks before spending them on whatever it was purchased for originally; thus reducing overall load times while making sure all available funds are used up efficiently without any leftover dust remaining behind after those purchases have gone through successfully!
