Published on: 2020-07-01T00:53:46+00:00
Hilda recently raised a question about the synchronization of the Bitcoin system, particularly regarding mempools. Mempools are essentially pools of unconfirmed transactions waiting to be included in the blockchain. While there is no direct way to limit the number of transactions someone can push onto your mempool, certain heuristics can assist in managing this issue.However, it's worth noting that these heuristics can sometimes create desynchronization between different mempools, which can potentially lead to problems. This means that the contents of one node's mempool may not match those of another node, causing discrepancies in transaction data.Fortunately, the blockchain itself serves as the main source of synchronization. The blockchain is a public ledger where all confirmed transactions are recorded in a sequential and synchronized manner. It ensures that transactions are legitimate by requiring miners to perform computationally intensive work towards achieving a difficulty target before they can add a block to the chain. As a result, it becomes practically impossible for someone to spam blocks without putting in considerable effort.It is important to highlight that consensus rules should primarily focus on data contained within blocks, rather than relying on information from mempools. Mempools are ephemeral and not synchronized across all nodes. Therefore, referring to mempool data for verifying the state of the entire Bitcoin system would require checking with every miner continuously, which is impractical.In conclusion, Hilda's query revolves around the verification of synchronization within the Bitcoin system, specifically concerning mempools. While heuristics can help manage the influx of transactions, they can also cause desynchronization between mempools. However, since the blockchain itself is the foundation of synchronization, attempting to spam blocks without performing the necessary computational work is virtually impossible. Consensus rules should prioritize data within blocks rather than relying on ephemeral and unsynchronized mempools.
Updated on: 2023-08-02T02:27:26.764047+00:00