Author: Adam Back 2015-10-15 16:37:13
Published on: 2015-10-15T16:37:13+00:00
In a discussion about BIP68, which defines a new sequence number in transactions to enable relative lock-time, Btc Drak confirmed that 16 bits will be used for the sequence number in both block and time versions, allowing for a resolution of 512 seconds. This change leaves aside 14 bits for possible future soft forks within BIP68 semantics. It was suggested that nSequence is the neatest and most straightforward way to implement the feature, with proposals in place for its use in discouraging miners from reorging chains and for proof-of-stake blocksize voting. The "prevbits" idea would require more bits, but there are ways to make 32 work okay. However, it may weaken some transactions. A possible solution is to change the BIP wording on every transaction bump, deciding whether to keep this scheme or not, while mempool enforces it always.
Updated on: 2023-06-10T23:45:33.521169+00:00