1
Click here for reference.
Note also that an output can be used only once. That's why there's a concept of "change address" in the bitcoin ecosystem: if an output of 10 BTC is available for me to spend, but I only need to transmit 1 BTC, I'll create a transaction with two outputs, one with 1 BTC that I want to spend, and the other with 9 BTC to a change address, so I can spend this 9 BTC with another private key that I own.
So what will happen if an output of 1 BTC is available for me to spend, but I want to spend 10 BTC?
Note: It is a general question and is not specific to any API feature.
1Oh! So the output value is your account balance! Thanks a lot! :D – Gagan – 2018-07-13T13:13:55.483
2@Gagan worth mentioning: in bitcoin there is not an ‘account balance’, there is only UTXOs (unspent transaction outputs). So your wallet’s ‘account balance’ is simply the sum of all UTXOs your wallet controls. As related to your Q: to spend a UTXO is to ‘consume’ it entirely. You cannot just spend ‘half a UTXO’, it is all or nothing (hence the reason a change address exists, so you can pay yourself back any excess funds in the UTXO). Other cryptocurrencies use an ‘account balance’ system, the difference seems subtle, but it is important if you want to understand these systems. – chytrik – 2018-07-13T19:31:11.320