delvingbitcoin

Timewarp attack 600 second grace period

Timewarp attack 600 second grace period

Original Postby AntoineP

Posted on: January 3, 2025 17:05 UTC

The dynamics of blockchain mining and its incentives are complex, reflecting a balance between individual miner revenue and the overall health of the network.

Miners prioritize the total block reward, which encompasses both the transaction fees and the block subsidy. An increase in block rate, allowing miners to claim more subsidies and potentially more fees, could lead to a reduction in fee rates. However, this does not necessarily imply a decrease in total fee revenues. The discussion touches on the implications of a 10% speed increase in block generation following a sustained 51% attack over 59 difficulty periods. While such a scenario might reduce the likelihood of attacks compared to current incentives, it's noted that the certainty of preventing attacks altogether is not assured due to the high concentration of mining power and the decreasing nature of miners' revenue from block subsidies.

Furthermore, the concept of a "miner activated fee rate easing" is introduced as a strategic move that might be employed post-attack, underlining that it wouldn't necessarily require reorganizing blocks by honest miners if a significant portion of the network's hash rate were involved. This strategy suggests a potential method for miners to increase revenue while offering lower fees to users, without directly marketing the approach as a 51% attack. This nuanced understanding of blockchain economics highlights the intricate balance between ensuring network security and optimizing miner incentives, pointing towards innovative but cautious approaches to managing blockchain dynamics.

Bitcoin Logo

TLDR

Join Our Newsletter

We’ll email you summaries of the latest discussions from authoritative bitcoin sources, like bitcoin-dev, lightning-dev, and Delving Bitcoin.

Explore all Products

ChatBTC imageBitcoin searchBitcoin TranscriptsSaving SatoshiBitcoin Transcripts Review
Built with 🧡 by the Bitcoin Dev Project
View our public visitor count

We'd love to hear your feedback on this project?

Give Feedback