Author: Zac Greenwood 2021-06-30 12:44:49
Published on: 2021-06-30T12:44:49+00:00
In a recent email exchange, Eric Voskuil argued that nodes do not enforce the knowledge that a transaction is invalid. He claimed that only economic nodes, which are people who refuse to accept invalid money, can enforce this decision. Zac Greenwood objected to this argument and stated that a node definitely enforces consensus rules and defines what is Bitcoin. He pointed out that merchants run a node which they believe enforces the rules of Bitcoin. In response, Eric reiterated his point that nodes only inform the decision to accept or reject a transaction, but it is up to people to enforce it. However, Zac's argument holds true as nodes disregard invalid transactions and blocks as if they never existed. The network of consensus-compatible nodes that we call Bitcoin ensures that no party can transact bitcoin in a way that violates the set of rules enforced by the network. Therefore, any attempt to violate these rules will be rejected by the network, making it impossible to transact Bitcoin in a non-compliant manner. It is important to note that a non-economic node is also well-established, but it still plays a crucial role in enforcing consensus rules.
Updated on: 2023-06-14T23:43:51.425012+00:00