Published on: 2012-04-26T18:00:59+00:00
In a discussion on the Bitcoin network's implementation of replacement transactions, it was confirmed that the feature is currently disabled. Transactions with lock-time in the future and non-maximum sequence number are accepted into nodes' memory pools but will not be included in any block until locktime expires. The "replacement" mechanism is also disabled, meaning that although nodes accept replaceable transactions, they do not allow them to be replaced except for one time by injecting a final transaction into the blockchain.In a 2012 email thread on the Bitcoin-development mailing list, Peter Todd proposed the idea of using the public nature of the blockchain to create trusted identities. He suggested that individuals could establish trust in their bitcoin address identity by creating transactions with large and equal fees, incurring a cost to themselves. This would serve as proof of their trustworthiness and deter double spending. If someone breaks their promise, their signed transaction can be published, destroying the value needed to create their trusted identity. Todd compared this system to a distributed green address system, which would make sybil attacks more difficult as it requires a significant amount of coins to pretend to be multiple identities. He also mentioned the potential use of this system for creating a distributed anonymizer, where bids from trusted identities are accepted.In another email exchange, Peter Vessenes suggested that CoinLab publish a metric for the cost of subverting multiple transactions with 90% probability to better understand the number. They discussed various ways to double-spend in Bitcoin, including using multiple VPS's with different IP addresses and flooding the network faster with multiple nodes. Trusted identities were considered as a way to prevent sybil attacks and provide guarantees of behavior from nodes. The amount of confirmation needed for large-volume transactions was also discussed, noting that increased difficulty shortens the safe time for such transactions. They also inquired about the current implementation of replacement transactions.To summarize, the public nature of the blockchain can be utilized to create trusted identities for financial transactions. By valuing and throwing away resources, individuals can establish trust in their bitcoin address identity. This creates a distributed green address system that allows other users to accept zero-confirmation transactions based on this trust. The system can also be used for a distributed anonymizer, where bids from trusted identities are accepted. This approach makes sybil attacks more difficult and strengthens the Bitcoin network. The current implementation of replacement transactions is disabled, but transactions with lock-time in the future and non-maximum sequence number are accepted into nodes' memory pools and will be included in blocks after locktime expires.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T03:27:13.924161+00:00