Author: Eric Lombrozo 2015-12-26 17:38:33
Published on: 2015-12-26T17:38:33+00:00
The given context assumes constant network hashpower and activation of soft fork at the beginning of a retarget period. When the soft fork activates, the difficulty increases by adding a second independent PoW check that must also be satisfied, which means more hashes on average are required to find a block, and at the end of the retarget period, the difficulty is lowered so that the block interval would again average 10 mins. If the second PoW difficulty were kept constant, the total PoW-to-time-unit ratio would be restored, and the retarget difficulty would stabilize again, requiring the same number of hashes on average as before. However, the second PoW difficulty is increased proportionally, requiring more hashes on average to find a block, and this process continues. Though the assumption of constant hashpower is unrealistic, the model shows what's possible with only a soft fork, and economic shifts can be compensated by increasing block size and rewards. The whole thing is complicated, and it is not recommended to implement it.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T02:33:33.314818+00:00