delvingbitcoin
Analyzing Mining Pool Behavior to Address Bitcoin Core's Double Coinbase Reservation Issue
Posted on: January 15, 2025 08:16 UTC
The recent modification to Bitcoin Core, specifically the pull request found at GitHub, which sets a minimal reserved block weight of 2000 Weight Units (WU), has prompted a revisitation and analysis of F2Pool's statistics regarding their block weights.
The data reveals some inconsistencies and peculiarities that merit further examination. For instance, there appears to be a discrepancy in F2Pool's reported minimum and maximum coinbase weights, with the minimum weight being unexpectedly higher than the maximum. This irregularity raises questions about the accuracy or interpretation of these values.
Additionally, the examination of a specific block, block 779729, with a maximum block weight of 3,998,554 WU, uncovers an unusual custom setting for the -blockmaxweight
parameter. After accounting for the coinbase weight of 1588 WU and adding 332 WU for the header and transaction count, the remaining weight totals 3,996,634 WU. This figure suggests a custom modification to Bitcoin Core was employed to achieve such a precise block weight, deviating from standard configurations.
Further analysis is suggested to delve into the specifics of how F2Pool manages its block weights, beyond just the coinbase and header weights. Understanding the allocation of weight within F2Pool's blocks could provide valuable insights into their operational strategies and possibly uncover optimizations or practices that could benefit broader discussions and developments within the Bitcoin community.