Author: Timo Hanke 2016-05-11 03:14:33
Published on: 2016-05-11T03:14:33+00:00
The bitcoin-dev mailing list discussed the proposal to make the patented AsicBoost optimization useless, and hopefully similar optimizations as well. However, there is no way to tell from a block if it was mined with AsicBoost or not, meaning you don’t know what percentage of the hashrate uses AsicBoost at any point in time. Changing the block mining algorithm would be a guaranteed chain fork, resulting in two co-existing bitcoin blockchains afterward. This is unlike the hypothetical persistence of two chains after a hardfork that is only contentious but doesn’t change the mining algorithm. The problem is that chip manufacturers will not tell you which optimizations they use. Therefore, it seems extremely dangerous to set the precedence of a hardfork that irreversibly forks out a certain type of mining hardware. The only solution is to go the exact opposite way and to embrace as many optimizations as possible to the point where there are no more optimizations left to do, or hopefully getting very close to that point.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T05:14:50.678080+00:00