Author: Sergio Demian Lerner 2016-10-02 22:25:52
Published on: 2016-10-02T22:25:52+00:00
The context is a discussion about the implementation of ASICBoost in Bitcoin, which was proposed as a way to improve mining efficiency. The author shares that they had shared their findings with some core developers prior to the BIP proposal, but it is unclear if they kept it secret or shared it with ASIC manufacturers. The author also mentions their desire to give the patent to public domain. The reason for proposing the BIP was because ASICBoost does not require it, and the BIP was not a consensus change, but just a semantic re-interpretation. ASICBoost can roll either the nVersion field or the Merkle root hash, with the latter making it completely stealthy. The author suggests that the BIP could help the community monitor its use in a non-confusing way for users. They also argue that forcing it to be stealthy is worse than allowing it to be monitored.The author expresses their support for changing Bitcoin to be more decentralized, but warns that hard-forking a change to the PoW function may be contentious and must be approached carefully.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T20:17:56.206380+00:00