Author: Ryan Grant 2017-05-18 19:28:38
Published on: 2017-05-18T19:28:38+00:00
The Bitcoin community is discussing the vulnerability exploited by 'ASICBOOST', which has been described as an attack on the security assumptions of Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work function. Cameron Garnham suggested assigning a CVE to this vulnerability. In response, Tier Nolan argued that as long as the effort to find a block is proportional to the block difficulty parameter, then it is not an exploit but simply an optimization. However, it has been discovered that bits in the block header can be used for dual meanings, and at least one meaning does not preserve the intended incentive balances. This creates an unexpected incentive to block protocol improvements and must be repaired. Thus, some members believe that action must be taken immediately to address this issue.
Updated on: 2023-06-12T00:51:37.918293+00:00