Lehar / Parlour Paper

This perspective introduces the notion that miners engage in complex economic interactions within the Bitcoin network, potentially sacrificing immediate gains for higher future returns. The paper incites debate over its empirical evidence and the broader implications of its findings, questioning established beliefs about miner incentives and encouraging further research into the economic strategies underpinning the Bitcoin protocol.

In understanding the mechanics of Bitcoin mining and block management, several key configurations and mechanisms play crucial roles. The discussion around block fullness, particularly how a block is deemed "full" based on its weight units, outlines theoretical and practical limits to block space utilization. The -blockreservedweight parameter and BLOCK_FULL_ENOUGH_WEIGHT_DELTA are highlighted as critical in determining when a block has reached its capacity, affecting transaction inclusion based on fee rates and priority violations. This examination brings to light the complexities of transaction selection and the prioritization schema used by miners, which aims to optimize fee income while also considering factors like out-of-band payments and absolute fees versus fee rates. The analysis extends to stale blocks, revealing limitations in current methodologies and datasets that hinder a comprehensive understanding of miner strategies and blockchain operation dynamics. The referenced stale-blocks repository underscores the challenges in analyzing stale block data accurately.

The phenomenon of empty blocks appearing in the blockchain, often minutes after a previous block, prompts questions about the underlying processes contributing to their occurrence. An analysis of block mining times from historical data unveils a marginal difference in the time taken to mine empty versus full blocks, with a closer look at the frequency and timing of these blocks revealing efficiency variations in block production. The exploration of empty block occurrences between March 2015 and January 2017 shows a notable variance in mining intervals, suggesting improvements in mining practices over time that have led to fewer empty blocks and more consistent mining intervals. This insight is further enriched by a gist detailing the comprehensive data analysis.

Additionally, the introduction of an empty blocks dashboard by @0xB10C and a reference to a 2017 post from Bitmex Research propose a hypothesis linking the prevalence of "long" empty blocks during 2015-2016 to a covert ASIC boost optimization by Bitmain. This viewpoint adds another layer of understanding to the operational intricacies and evolving landscape of blockchain mining, highlighting the significant shifts in mining efficiency and the role of technological advancements.