Published on: 2021-04-23T00:06:02+00:00
In an email sent to the bitcoin-dev mailing list, Jeremy Rubin proposes a new upgrade mechanism for Bitcoin. The proposed mechanism involves a series of state transitions spread over two years, with two soft forks and two quieting periods. The main objective is to achieve consensus among miners and node operators while avoiding lost hashrate. To address concerns, forced signaling is used during the process. The email provides a detailed timeline for the upgrade process.However, there are some questions and concerns regarding the proposal. One concern is the missing state transitions, as well as the adjustment of signaling thresholds and the flexibility of parameters during quieting periods. The most contentious part of the proposal is the PoW fork, which highlights the risk of committing to a minority chain due to rule activation with low hashrate.The email also discusses the struggle to identify the complete set of problems that the process of organizing discussion around a repeatable process for soft-fork upgrades aims to solve. The writer argues against LOT=false deployment and the idea of miners having veto power over proposals. The proposal is seen as not solving any meaningful progress on a consensus change process, particularly because it lacks a mechanism for gathering reliable information about user-preference in a sybil resistant way.The proposal aims to be compatible with Taproot's ST and seeks to form rough consensus on what to try next. However, the specific parameters are open to debate. Forced signaling is discussed, but its merit is unclear to the writer. The email concludes with a call for someone to write the software for the proposed mechanism.Overall, the letter proposes a development process that respects all groups involved in a balance of powers. It aims to form rough consensus and considers compatibility with Taproot's ST. While questions and concerns exist regarding various aspects of the proposal, such as missing state transitions and parameter flexibility, the proposal emphasizes the potential disruption caused by committing to a minority chain with low hashrate.
Updated on: 2023-08-02T03:40:08.296937+00:00