Author: Dave Hudson 2016-03-09 18:30:19
Published on: 2016-03-09T18:30:19+00:00
The difficulty retargeting in cryptocurrencies is a matter of concern. A damping-based design is an obvious choice for this, but the problem is working out a timeframe over which to run the derivative calculations. The measurement of hashrate is pretty inaccurate, and even 2016 events aren't enough to predict difficulty swings accurately. To react meaningfully to a significant loss of hashing, a window of around two weeks is necessary. Quick retargets to lower difficulties may expose the chain to being gamed, making some types of selfish mining strategies quite profitable. However, there will likely not be a significant drop in the hash rate come July. The hash rate has increased by almost 70% in the last six to seven months, indicating serious investments by miners aware of the halving. It's probable that most of the baseline 30% has also been replaced in the same cycle. This means that profitability won't be a huge concern for them.Bob McElrath suggests a solution to the difficulty retargeting problem; a critically damped harmonic oscillator. This is a zero-parameter, optimal damping solution for a varying hashrate. Weak block proposals will be able to get better approximations to the hashrate.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T04:19:42.815128+00:00