After connecting, the Send tab offers Fast/Normal/Economy rates from the server's fee estimates (never below the relay fee, implausible values ignored). A manual rate below the relay fee is refused before building and a fee above 1% of the amount is flagged in the preview. See ADR 0039.
32 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
32 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
# 0039. Server fee estimates, relay floor and a high-fee warning
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- **Status:** Accepted
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- **Area:** Wallet
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- **Recorded:** 2026-11-03
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## Context
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`EstimateFeeAsync` and `RelayFeeAsync` existed but nothing called them. The default fee rate was the constant 1 sat/vB and the only validation was "greater than zero" (and the F-01 upper bound). A rate below the node's minimum relay fee built a transaction that was rejected only at broadcast, with a generic server error, and a congested chain gave no guidance. ADR 0017 chose a single manual fee rate; this extends it without replacing the manual field.
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## Decision
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- After connecting, the ViewModel asks the server for `blockchain.relayfee` and `blockchain.estimatefee` with targets 2, 6 and 24 blocks (`FeePolicy.FetchAsync`, `Core/Wallet/FeePolicy.cs`). Each call is optional: an error or a malformed answer leaves that value empty.
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- Values are converted from coin/kB to sat/vB (× 100,000,000 / 1,000), rounded to 2 decimals. `-1` (no estimate), zero, negative, or above `CoinAmount.MaxFeeRate` (1000 sat/vB) is discarded as implausible. An estimate is raised to the relay fee if lower.
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- The Send form offers Fast, Normal and Economy buttons and a hint line with the numbers; Normal is preselected only if the user has not typed a rate. Without usable estimates the presets are hidden and the manual field keeps the 1 sat/vB default.
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- A manual rate below the known relay fee is refused before building, with a message naming the minimum. Donate follows the same rules.
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- The estimate is untrusted input, so the absolute fee is always shown, and the preview adds a warning when the fee exceeds 1% of the amount sent (`FeePolicy.IsHighFee`). The warning is advisory, not blocking.
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## Consequences
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- A rate the node would reject is caught locally with a clear message; the default follows the network instead of a constant.
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- A malicious server can still suggest a high-but-plausible rate (up to 1000 sat/vB); the bound, the visible absolute fee and the 1% warning limit the damage, and the user can always type a rate.
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- Presets fetched once per connection are not refreshed during a long session; reconnecting refreshes them.
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- The relay-fee check relies on a value from the same server; a server that reports a high relay fee can only make the wallet more conservative, not less.
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## References
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- `src/Core/Wallet/FeePolicy.cs`
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- `src/App/ViewModels/MainWindowViewModel.Send.cs`
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- `tests/PalladiumWallet.Tests/Wallet/FeePolicyTests.cs`
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- Related: 0017
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