Author: Mike Hearn 2013-04-17 09:48:59
Published on: 2013-04-17T09:48:59+00:00
When discussing the implementation of a system that allows for transaction (tx) replacement, there was concern that miner incentives would lead them to ignore replacements due to the extra work and potential for lower fees. Solutions proposed included progressively raising fees on each replacement or specifying lock time in terms of blocks and stepping it backwards for each replacement to ensure any attached fee could be claimed earlier. While these solutions could be implemented by whichever application is running the contract, there is disagreement over whether they are necessary as they reduce the utility of high-frequency trading (HFT). Rational miners typically do not pursue a profit-at-any-cost agenda and include free transactions in blocks because it is in their interest for Bitcoins to be as useful as possible. If an application using tx replacement were to be implemented, starting with replacements that do not change fees or count down the lock time field may be a good approach to observe miner behavior. Ideally, a "killer app" - something unique and compelling enough to attract users to obtain Bitcoin just to use it - would demonstrate the inherent utility of the feature and convince rational miners to play by default rules. Reactivation requires bumping the protocol version and relaying non-final transactions to new nodes again, with individual wallet APIs handling how to handle non-final transactions.
Updated on: 2023-06-06T15:07:29.942410+00:00