Author: Melvin Carvalho 2022-04-26 06:39:36
Published on: 2022-04-26T06:39:36+00:00
In a recent email to the bitcoin-dev mailing list, Michael Folkson urged users to pay attention to Bitcoin's consensus rules in the coming weeks, as he fears things may get messy. He notes that those who were around during 2015-2017 will know what to expect, but emphasizes the importance of presenting information clearly to users ahead of time so they can make informed decisions. Folkson warns that some parties may seek to break nodes off from Bitcoin and take advantage of a contentious soft fork activation attempt. In this case, he recommends relying on the status quo and using tried and trusted releases such as Bitcoin Core, unless users are well-informed on exactly what they are running.Another member of the mailing list reflects on the 2017 argument, characterizing it as being around a potential network split. They note that splitting the network is problematic because one chain may experience a hash death or disruptive minority hash behavior without mitigating difficulty adjustment algorithms. They argue that any proposed changes should factor in network splits as a potential risk and consider network splits an attack on par with a 51% attack in terms of user disruption. Despite the potential risks, both members express optimism that the current conversation is much better tempered than in 2017 and hope to avoid perceptions of gatekeeping and railroading in order to keep the network together.
Updated on: 2023-06-15T19:33:14.684896+00:00