delvingbitcoin

BIP Draft: Flag day activation based on nLockTime signaling

BIP Draft: Flag day activation based on nLockTime signaling

Original Postby 40000bytes

Posted on: August 22, 2024 00:35 UTC

The discussion revolves around the misconception of miners signaling their support for specific Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) through the inclusion of transactions in blocks, which is clarified as not being an endorsement mechanism.

It's emphasized that both BIP and BIP 8/9 signaling processes are not designed to serve as endorsements by miners. The concern over using transaction inclusion as a measure of user readiness is highlighted, pointing out the potential for manipulation by miners. Despite these challenges, it's noted that users have mechanisms for showing support as outlined in the BIP draft.

Furthermore, the inevitability of all transactions being mined, provided there's at least one pool willing to include them in a block, is mentioned, dispelling fears of permanent exclusion due to censorship tools. However, it's also acknowledged that certain pools, like the Ocean pool with its default template excluding transactions with nLockTime 21, might not include specific transactions, though this does not incentivize censorship according to the BIP. In scenarios where all miners collectively decide to ignore a transaction, the discussion offers solutions such as using a normal nLockTime to replace the initial transaction or increasing the transaction fees to ensure eventual mining.