Published on: 2023-08-31T00:16:25+00:00
The email discusses the concept of "drivechains" and proposes an alternative solution called "Sentinel chains." Drivechains are a type of sidechain that involves conducting sidechain withdrawals directly through miners. The proposal, known as BIP-300, mandates a three-month period for peg-outs, during which miners vote on the validity of the peg-outs. This allows the community to respond in case of incorrect peg-outs or theft.The sender acknowledges criticisms of drivechains but believes that they can be a viable solution, given Bitcoin's reliance on social consensus. However, they argue that there are tools available now that can improve the process, leading to the concept of Sentinel chains.Sentinel chains involve sidechain nodes functioning as Sentinels, actively monitoring Bitcoin blocks and mempool transactions for invalid peg-outs that go against sidechain consensus rules. These invalid transactions or blocks are transmitted to public Nostr servers. Bitcoin full nodes interested in participating in sidechain consensus can run a small daemon alongside Bitcoin Core to monitor Nostr nodes for messages about invalid transactions. They can choose any group of individuals or organizations to receive updates from Nostr, forming their own decentralized web of trust.This approach reverses the conventional model of two-way pegged sidechains by having sidechains monitor nodes instead of requiring nodes to monitor sidechains. Sentinel chains require an initial consensus soft fork and allow for instantaneous and individual withdrawals without the need for a three-month gradual social consensus. Additionally, a single daemon can monitor notifications from multiple Sentinel chains, making the solution highly scalable for numerous sidechains.In summary, the email presents drivechains as an existing solution with certain limitations, and proposes Sentinel chains as an alternative approach that addresses some of these limitations. Sentinel chains involve sidechain nodes functioning as Sentinels, actively monitoring Bitcoin blocks and mempool transactions for invalid peg-outs and transmitting them to public Nostr servers. Bitcoin full nodes can participate in sidechain consensus by running a small daemon alongside Bitcoin Core to monitor Nostr nodes and form their own decentralized web of trust.
Updated on: 2023-08-31T01:57:21.452114+00:00