Author: Sergio Lerner 2014-04-24 15:13:40
Published on: 2014-04-24T15:13:40+00:00
In a discussion between Mike Hearn and Adam Ritter on April 23, 2014, the topic of faster blockchains for Bitcoin transactions was raised. Ritter suggested that a faster blockchain (possibly as a sidechain) would solve the problem of the 10-minute block time and make 0-confirmation transactions safe. Hearn responded by explaining that the 10-minute average block time is arbitrary and comes from a desire to balance wasted work due to natural chain splits with latency. Faster block intervals could lead to more forks and longer convergence times, making attacks easier. However, Hearn did simulate a 5-second block interval with great success and shared his methods in a blog post. NimbleCoin, a new alt-coin based on BitcoinJ, also uses 5-second block intervals and allows for 100 transactions per second. It's important to note that the 5-second block interval method requires a block reward forever and doesn't work well without it. Hearn added that very fast payments are needed for best physical-world usability, with a few seconds being competitive with modern credit cards.
Updated on: 2023-06-08T20:45:26.804234+00:00