Giving teeth to expected EC disabling: P2XX(-T)(-ML)

The recent development shared involves an innovative approach to handling proof without the need for a quantum computer by utilizing a fake NUMS point in test code. This methodology allows for the generation of "proof" effectively and integrates a peer-to-peer (p2p) messaging system to distribute this proof. The nodes are designed to disregard any incoming messages if they already possess any valid form of proof, which helps in managing redundancy within the network.

Moreover, there are considerations for implementing rate limiting when verifying p2p proof candidates, although it is noted that this process is relatively inexpensive, equating to the cost involved in verifying a transaction signature. In terms of integration into existing mining protocols, the proof is included in a coinbase op_return until a specified freeze activates. This feature is compatible with stratum v2 and ipc mining clients, though a minor modification is necessary for getblocktemplate clients to accommodate this new proof mechanism.

A significant aspect of this prototype is its departure from traditional methods such as the bip9 style header scan, due to the proof not being included in the header. Instead, the proof and a merkle inclusion proof are stored in a file, which is accessed upon node restart. Although storing the proof in the coinbase transaction has been deemed convenient and predominantly used, there is an acknowledgment that miners could potentially censor this information. For further details on this implementation, refer to the GitHub repository provided in the link here.