Change Output

In Bitcoin, coins aren’t tracked as account balances but exist as individual chunks called UTXOs (Unspent Transaction Outputs). Think of these like cash bills: when you spend one that’s larger than your payment amount, you receive the difference back as change.

When sending bitcoin, you choose which UTXO to spend. Part of it goes to your recipient, but if your UTXO is larger than needed, the leftover amount—minus any transaction fees—is sent back to you as “change output.” This change is usually sent to a new address controlled by your wallet. The process ensures all the value from the input is accounted for and nothing is lost.