A statistical consensus rule for reducing 0-conf double-spend risk



Summary:

In an email thread between Tom Harding and some Bitcoin developers, a correction was made to the calculation of the cost of double-spending. The new approximation requires the rule-following minority to find the next two blocks, resulting in a lower bound cost of .0025 BTC for one transaction. If a miner includes a seasoned double-spend despite the rule, he still loses at least .25 BTC, which is about 1000x the typical "double-spend premium." This high cost may prompt miners to attempt to make a business out of mining double-spends to defray the cost.


Updated on: 2023-06-08T22:18:50.917909+00:00