Add a moving checkpoint to the Bitcoin protocol



Summary:

The proposal is to add a "moving checkpoint" to the Bitcoin protocol, which is already implemented in NXT coin. This would allow a node to ignore any new block under nodeBlockHeight - N, making the blockchain truly immutable after N blocks, even during a 51% attack. NXT coin has an N value of 720 blocks, or about 12 hours of blocks. To be more conservative, Bitcoin could have an N value of 144 blocks, or about 24 hours. This would allow users and exchanges to plan their operations with large amounts of BTC, knowing that only after 24 hours would a transaction be truly immutable. The proposal aims to ensure that, if a 51% attack were to occur, history rewrite would be limited to only 24 hours.


Updated on: 2023-06-13T20:39:13.669950+00:00