Taproot activation proposal "Speedy Trial"

Summary:

The activation plan for Taproot, an upcoming Bitcoin protocol upgrade, has been modified to include a Speedy Trial that can activate the system quickly or fail fast without compromising safety. The proposal is based on BIP8 with specific parameters and replaces most of the upfront delay with a backend delay, ensuring there will be six months between the time signal tracking starts and when nodes will begin enforcing taproot's rules. The goal of Speedy Trial is to generate fast progress that will either end the debate or give actual data upon which to base future taproot activation proposals.Several links and references related to the activation of Taproot were shared on the bitcoin-dev mailing list. The proposed activation methods include Speedy Trial, BIP8, and a variation called LOT=true. Speedy Trial would activate Taproot if 90% of miners signal readiness in any of the first four difficulty epochs of a 2,016-block period, while BIP8 would give miners a chance to activate it within a year before a forced activation at the end of that period.The discussion also touched on the potential risks of miner centralization and the possibility of a chain split if the activation fails. Some participants argued for a longer activation period or the inclusion of LOT=true as a fallback option in case of activation failure. Others suggested a hybrid approach or the use of BIP9-style signaling, which has been used in previous upgrades such as the 2015 fork that introduced BIP65. One participant pointed out that BIP9's times are based on the median of the past 11 blocks, which can cause delays if miners are doing unusual things. Another referenced a previous discussion on the topic from June 2016, which noted that "a long activation period is less risky than a short one" and that "if we must err, let us err on the side of caution. "Overall, the discussion highlighted the importance of careful consideration and planning for the activation of Taproot, given its potential impact on the Bitcoin network. The proposed activation plan assumes a mid-April release of Bitcoin Core 0.21.1 containing these parameters. The timeline includes an extended lock-in period of 14112 blocks, which is seven retarget periods. This means that the earliest activation height will be 697536, and the latest activation height will be 709632. False signaling is possible with any other proposal, and the same problems can occur if miners fail to upgrade for any mandatory activation. Encouragement of false signaling might occur due to the short timeline. However, compared to other activation proposals, the difference is Speedy Trial's short timeline. The proposal has additional advantages, such as no mandatory signaling during the locked-in period(s), although such signaling will be encouraged as it was with BIP9. A benefit mentioned for activated parties is that we could get up to six months advanced notice of taproot activation, allowing users, developers, and organizations to prepare software, announcements, and celebrations for that event.

Updated on: 2023-06-14T19:16:54.108936+00:00