Published on: 2017-10-08T09:28:32+00:00
Kevin Pan has proposed a solution to the Block Withholding Attack in Bitcoin. The idea is based on a proposal by Aviv Zohar and involves changing the difficulty algorithm. The new_diff equation divides DIFF_1 by the absolute value of the target minus an offset value. This offset value, which is a 32-byte uint256 in Bitcoin, must be within a specific range provided to miners by the mining pool.To implement this solution, the merkle root hash algorithm needs a slight modification to include the offset_hash at the beginning of the tx hashes array. When miners receive a job from the mining pool, they are given the PoW hash range (miner_hash_begin/end). If miners find a hash that falls within this range, they should submit it to the pool as a valid share. On the other hand, if the hash value is between the network_hash_begin and network_hash_end, then the miner has found a valid block.The network_diff, which is much higher than the miner's diff, ensures that cheat miners cannot determine which share could make a valid block. This prevents them from withholding blocks. However, there are two challenges with implementing this solution. Firstly, it requires a hard fork, which is not an easy task. Secondly, existing ASIC DSHA256 chips would become useless. Nonetheless, Pan believes that new ASIC chips can be created based on current technology.In addition to Pan's proposal, there have been other proposals to address the Block Withholding Attack, such as one from 2012 that may be possible to implement in existing miners. However, some mining pools, including those unable to remove the NYA tag, are currently unable to express their opinions or standpoint fully. Overall, the proposed solution by Kevin Pan offers a potential way to prevent the Block Withholding Attack in Bitcoin, although it comes with its own set of challenges.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T22:01:03.444454+00:00