Published on: 2017-01-28T17:14:02+00:00
The Bitcoin-dev mailing list has been discussing proposals for changes to the Bitcoin protocol. Some of the proposed changes include removing the block size limit, limiting the creation of unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) and encouraging their spending, and implementing a smoother halving cycle for block rewards. There are also proposals for a new coinbase transaction format and a Merkle sum tree for fraud-proofing.Matt Corallo suggests minimizing header size, having only one merkle tree for transactions, and avoiding variable-length header fields. He also discusses light wallet functionality without an upgrade and the Stratum protocol. Another proposal titled "Client Side Block Filtering" suggests an alternative method of block downloading that allows clients to filter blocks based on specific criteria.Johnson Lau introduces a second version of forcenet with experimental features, including anti-tx-replay and block sighashlimit. The author of the context also creates a second version of forcenet with new experimental features, such as a new header format and anti-tx-replay. There is a discussion about the concept of a sum tree and softfork in Bitcoin, as well as the issue with redefining nSigOp in a sum tree and the proposal to combine the two costs into a unified cost.In December 2016, a discussion took place regarding the use of a timestamp beyond 4 bytes. Luke Dashjr proposed stealing a few bits from the tx nVersion through a softfork as a solution. There were also discussions about the implementation of a new merkle algorithm using a sum tree, communication with legacy nodes, and the possibility of enabling easier soft forks through a bridge node. Suggestions were made to keep hashing to a minimum and to consider an 8-byte timestamp due to the approaching year 2106.Overall, the Bitcoin-dev mailing list concludes that some proposals may not be essential for the hard fork and could be added later through a soft fork. Forcenet, an experimental network, was created to demonstrate a new header format, but some aspects have not yet been implemented. Codes for testing can be found on Github, and joining the network is possible by running "bitcoind --forcenet" and connecting to the node running at 8333.info with the default port.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T19:17:12.881545+00:00