Author: ZmnSCPxj 2023-08-31 00:16:25+00:00
Published on: 2023-08-31T00:16:25+00:00
In this email, the sender expresses their initial interest in sidechains as a scaling solution for blockchains. However, they later realized that sidechains would only create more blockchains that cannot scale. As an alternative, they turned their attention to Lightning, which is a non-blockchain mechanism for scaling blockchains.The sender also mentions that the only other reason for using sidechains is to develop new features. However, they believe that any useful features developed on sidechains should eventually be integrated into the "real" Bitcoin. In this case, a sidechain would only serve as a proof-of-concept. They suggest that a federated sidechain among individuals who can hold each other accountable for bad behavior would suffice for developing and prototyping a feature.If the recipient is interested in a "user-activated" sidechain feature, the sender suggests considering an old idea called "mainstake" by an obscure individual with an unpronounceable name. The sender provides a link to a website that explains the concept further: https://zmnscpxj.github.io/sidechain/mainstake/index.htmlThe sender goes on to highlight some differences between mainstake and other sidechain proposals like drivechains. One key difference is that mainchain miners cannot select the builder of the next sidechain block without increasing their required work. This prevents them from easily censoring sidechain blocks. However, they can still censor new mainstakers attempting to evict mainstakers hostile to a sidechain.Despite these differences, there are still similarities between mainstake and other sidechains. All sidechain funds are held by a group of anonymous individuals. The sender notes that fund distribution may not be well-distributed, potentially allowing a small number of large whales to take over a sidechain with small mainstakers and steal the funds.The sender concludes by mentioning that the linked write-up mentions "PoW change" too frequently, which they find embarrassing for the pseudonymous writer.
Updated on: 2023-08-31T01:56:41.595910+00:00