Author: G. Andrew Stone 2022-10-19 21:34:43
Published on: 2022-10-19T21:34:43+00:00
A proposal to increase throughput in the Bitcoin network has been shared on the bitcoin-dev mailing list. The current limit on block size limits global settlement throughput to a reduced number of transactions per second. The proposed solution involves allowing miners to include transactions until the block is filled, creating a structure called a "brick." Once the brick is fully filled, it would be broadcasted and nodes would have it on a separate fork. The accumulated PoW is calculated using mathematics, and when a series of minimum hashes is computationally equivalent to the network difficulty, the full "brickchain" is valid as a block. If successful, this could flush mempools, keep transaction fees low, and increase throughput without raising concerns related to propagation. However, some argue that reduced settlement speed is a desirable feature and layer 2 protocols like mweb should be the focus instead. There are also concerns about spam and centralization. Two weak block proposals, "bobtail" and "tailstorm," have been suggested but are unlikely to be implemented.
Updated on: 2023-06-16T02:15:57.465661+00:00