Great Consensus Cleanup Revival

In the realm of Bitcoin mining, the management and optimization of block space are crucial for maximizing efficiency and profitability. A particular focus is given to the coinbase transaction within a block, which is an area where miners can potentially adjust settings to optimize space utilization. Bitcoin Core, by default, reserves 8000 weight units for coinbase and header information in block templates, though this amount can be adjusted by miners through configuration settings. The minimum reserve can be set to 2000 weight units, but with modifications, it could potentially be reduced even further.

The discussion highlights how different mining pools might approach the allocation of space for coinbase transactions differently. For instance, Ocean Pool is known for utilizing extra-large coinbases, directing its users to set their blockmaxweight to 3985000, thus reserving 15 kWu specifically for the coinbase. This practice contrasts with the typical variation seen in coinbase transaction sizes, which can fluctuate significantly, as evidenced by observed transactions ranging from 3 kWu to 9.4 kWu.

Furthermore, the consideration of adding between 15 to 31 bytes of additional data to the coinbase transaction is put into perspective against the backdrop of current practices. Despite the potential for such additions to impact the available space within a block, the current sentiment suggests that the revenue effects of these adjustments are negligible. Miners' concerns are more likely to revolve around optimizing the use of the existing safety margins rather than the implications of slightly larger coinbase transactions. This situation might evolve as miners seek to maximize every byte of space within blocks, but currently, the addition of 15 to 31 extra bytes is seen as having minimal impact on overall mining revenue.

For further details on configuring Datum users for optimal mining practices, refer to the GitHub documentation provided by OCEAN-xyz here, and to observe the variability in coinbase transaction sizes firsthand, one can explore data from mining pools like Ocean at mempool.space.