Author: Matt Whitlock 2014-08-01 03:26:20
Published on: 2014-08-01T03:26:20+00:00
In a discussion between Gregory Maxwell and Matt Whitlock on July 31, 2014, Matt suggested introducing a new script opcode that would push the current block height onto the operand stack. This would allow for arbitrary logic about which blocks a transaction can be valid in, but it would also require the client to revalidate all transactions in its mempool whenever the chain tip changes. However, Gregory pointed out that invalidating transactions later could have severe consequences as it could mean that certain transactions are forever precluded due to an otherwise harmless reorganization.Matt responded by saying that transactions should not be considered "final" until they have a reasonable number of confirmations anyway, so the possibility of an accepted transaction becoming invalid due to a chain reorganization is not a new danger. In fact, even ordinary transactions can become invalid due to chain reorganizations if their inputs have already been spent in the new branch.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T01:47:43.202950+00:00