Author: Erik Aronesty 2017-04-20 16:14:18
Published on: 2017-04-20T16:14:18+00:00
In a bitcoin-dev thread, Christian Decker proposed the extension of signaling capabilities to end-users, which would give stakeholders a voice in network decisions. He suggested using output scripts as the best field for signaling since they are specified by the recipient of funds and are already stored in the UTXO. The last 4 bits of the pubkey/pubkeyhash could be used to opt-in, with the vote (0/1) depending on the stakeholders' desired signal. However, unlike the OP_RETURN proposal, users who do not intend to signal will also be included in the tally. To ensure voluntary votes, the opt-in should be adjusted accordingly, but too many opt-in bits may exacerbate existing problems with HD Wallet lookahead. Tim Ruffing added that using addresses creates vulnerabilities, so an OP_RETURN signal seems the safest way to go for UA signaling. He suggested modeling a BIP after BIP9, with some discussion of how to properly collect statistics and the ability for nodes to activate features based on an "economic majority" defined in this way.
Updated on: 2023-06-12T00:26:52.199512+00:00