Published on: 2021-04-07T00:46:16+00:00
Developer Rusty Russell recently expressed his disagreement with using BIP8 with LOT configuration as a long-term solution for Bitcoin's future. In a post on bitcoin-dev, he argued that a regular flag day without signaling but openly communicated may be a better alternative. He emphasized the importance of considering infrastructure and drew parallels to the need for elections in government. Russell also outlined four reasons why a fresh release, rather than individually setting LOT configuration, could be simpler and safer. These reasons include avoiding consensus sensitivity issues, eliminating the risk of missed windows, enabling a faster soft-fail process, and preventing block invalidation if miners continue without signaling.While acknowledging that this approach isn't perfect, Russell didn't propose any immediate solutions to make it easier. He also discussed the technical aspects of BIP-8 and its effectiveness in preventing forks. With hopes of maintaining a harmonious ecosystem, he suggested that having BIP-8 deployed and ready could provide a safety net if necessary.The discussion primarily centered around the activation logic for Taproot. While Speedy Trial (ST) is not the final decision on activation logic, BIP8 with LOT configuration doesn't formalize how economic nodes send a network-legible signal before a chain split. Russell proposed a three-step process where developers release but do not activate, miners signal, and users have the option to override by compiling and releasing a patched Bitcoin with moderate changes to activate Taproot at a later date. He argued that this process is simpler and safer than using a configurable LOT.Furthermore, there was a discussion about the limitations of tying improvements together and the belief that each improvement should stand or fall on its own merits. Additionally, serious objections were raised regarding BIP8 in various deployment modes, including the risk of unnecessary chain splits, potential downtime for those running lot=true, and the possibility of reorganizations and wipeouts for those running lot=false. The author stressed the need for significant improvements in these areas.Lastly, the author suggested that once Taproot is resolved, there are other opportunities to enhance activation methodologies, such as consensus cleanup, anyprevout, ctv, graftroot, annex-based block commitments, and op_cat/covenants.
Updated on: 2023-08-02T03:31:06.862084+00:00