What are UTXOs?

UTXOs (Unspent Transaction Outputs) are a core concept in the world of Bitcoin, Litecoin and other UTXO-based POW (Proof of work) blockchains. They represent the amount of cryptocurrency that has not yet been spent by the owner of a specific address, which can then be used as input in new transactions.

In simpler terms, when someone receives cryptocurrency, the amount they receive is recorded as a UTXO. These outputs can be used to create new transactions where they become "spent."

Properties of UTXOs:

• Each UTXO is associated with a specific transaction and has its own ID.

• UTXOs are indivisible; if the amount you want to spend is less than the total UTXO value, a new UTXO (for the change) will be created and sent back to you.

• They are not "account balances" but rather pieces of cryptocurrency that are stored as transaction outputs, waiting to be spent.

You can also retrieve UTXO details using our API available under the Liaas Enterprise Plan (No Tokenization). Learn more about manually spending UTXOs in the following section.