Author: Natanael 2015-02-22 16:17:05
Published on: 2015-02-22T16:17:05+00:00
The discussion revolves around accepting zero-confirmation transactions and the risks associated with it. One merchant at Bitcoin 2013 conference in San Jose faced a loss as the transactions depended on other unconfirmed transactions which never confirmed. The author suggests that tracking the failure rate of zero confirmation transactions and adjusting prices accordingly to cover the expected loss is a better solution, as all payment methods carry some level of fraud risk. However, this approach is worthless as a predictor against adaptive attackers and malicious miners and pools. Malicious miners and pools can conspire with thieves to steal money, and one successful attack can place hundreds of merchants in red numbers and force them to shut down. Therefore, the author proposes the multisignature notary approach, along with collateral, as the single most practical approach for actual security for unconfirmed transactions. The author advises against relying on zero-confirmation transactions and urges people not to expose themselves to attacks they cannot defend against and which can be fatal.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T17:38:49.134319+00:00