bitcoin-dev

Combined summary - Call for reconfiguration of nodes to relay transactions with fee-rates below 1 sat/vbyte

Combined summary - Call for reconfiguration of nodes to relay transactions with fee-rates below 1 sat/vbyte

The recent discussions on the Bitcoin Development Mailing List have brought several key topics to light, particularly focusing on the optimization and management of system resources like bandwidth and CPU in the context of Bitcoin's operational efficiency.

The conversation underscored the importance of these resources in maintaining the scalability, speed, and reliability of Bitcoin transactions and operations. It was elucidated that understanding the balance and consumption of bandwidth and CPU usage stands critical for developers striving to enhance Bitcoin's infrastructure. This dialogue signifies the ongoing efforts within the community to address and mitigate evolving challenges, ensuring the network's robustness.

Sjors Provoost introduced an insightful perspective on managing transaction fees on the network. He suggested the utilization of the prioritisetransaction RPC for selectively including low or zero-fee transactions in blocks, compensating through other means such as alternative payment networks. This approach underscores a nuanced understanding of transaction prioritization, extending beyond mere fee structures. Provoost also highlighted the significance of considering technical resources like bandwidth, memory, and CPU usage in transaction processing, which are vital for the network’s efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This discussion brings forth a broader view of blockchain economics, emphasizing the importance of optimizing various system resources alongside transaction fee structures to sustain network health and performance.

A consensus emerged around configuring -incrementalrelayfee=0 to complement minrelaytxfee=0.00000001, challenging previous concerns over DoS attack risks due to low transaction fees. This is based on observations that miners might already operate with a -blockmintxfee set to 0 or lower, evidenced by zero-fee transactions in blocks. Furthermore, it was argued that Bitcoin's current operational parameters, including a default mempool size limit of 300MB and a timeout of 336 hours for unconfirmed transactions, effectively mitigate potential DoS attacks facilitated by low fee-rate transactions. These safeguards support the argument for potentially lowering transaction fees without compromising security.

In terms of transaction fee adjustments, a cautious approach was advised when setting -incrementalrelayfee, suggesting a minor increase from 0.001 satoshis per virtual byte to 0.002, requiring miner cooperation to avoid transactions stagnating in the mempool. This strategy acknowledges the risk of lowering the cost barrier for DoS attacks but also considers the changing landscape with the Lightning Network's introduction. The discussion acknowledged that maintaining somewhat elevated fee levels could deter new forms of economically viable attacks, highlighting the evolving considerations in the ecosystem regarding fee adjustments.

Lastly, there's an ongoing debate about adjusting the default minimum relay transaction fee, which has remained at 1 sat/vbyte since 2013. Given the significant increase in Bitcoin's value, there's a proposition to lower the minrelaytxfee to 0.00000001 or 0.001 sat/vbyte to facilitate transactions with lower fee rates, such as consolidation and multisig operations. This adjustment aims at improving the efficiency and accessibility of the Bitcoin network for a variety of operations, reflecting directly on node operation and configuration practices within the community.

Discussion History

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Greg TonoskiOriginal Post
January 31, 2025 08:49 UTC
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January 31, 2025 12:54 UTC
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January 31, 2025 13:43 UTC
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January 31, 2025 14:40 UTC
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January 31, 2025 15:13 UTC
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February 3, 2025 19:42 UTC
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