Author: Luke-Jr 2011-09-13 16:48:29
Published on: 2011-09-13T16:48:29+00:00
In a discussion on September 13, 2011, Gavin Andresen proposed a fix for the vulnerability of Bitcoin mining code that allowed malicious miners to take advantage of block timestamps. Andresen suggested incorporating an NTP library or removing the mining code from the client, requiring pools and miners to have accurate system clocks within a minute to prevent discouraging blocks. However, this approach was deemed unreasonable as it could cause delays in generating work for 400+ GH/s worth of miners every new block. Noncerange was also not supported properly, while time headers left pools with limited options. Andresen believed that fixing the vulnerability would eliminate the issue of miners manipulating difficulty by messing around with block times. However, he pointed out that miners already had limited area to manipulate block times, and these attacks somehow bypassed the limitations in place.
Updated on: 2023-06-04T19:34:01.430150+00:00