Mining centralization pressure from non-uniform propagation speed



Summary:

Pieter Wuille sent an email on June 12, 2015, explaining the configuration used in the code that simulates two groups of miners. The groups are well-connected internally but only connected to each other through a slow 2 Mbit/s link. The results showed that the group of smaller miners loses around 8% of their relative income if they create larger blocks. When asked for clarification, it was confirmed that the 8% loss referred to revenue rather than profit. This could have a significant impact on their mining operation, as actual profit margins of something like 5%-10% are likely.


Updated on: 2023-06-09T22:50:52.177957+00:00