Author: Tom Harding 2016-09-19 16:13:40
Published on: 2016-09-19T16:13:40+00:00
In a message from Peter Todd via bitcoin-dev on September 17, 2016, he discusses the probability of dishonest miners finding N blocks in a row immediately. He explains that what is actually needed is the probability that they can build a chain N blocks long, taking the random-walk into account. For this, Todd suggests using Satoshi's formula from bitcoin.pdf, section 11, which yields different results than the previous method. Specifically, q=.5 is deemed totally insecure, as both factions are guaranteed to eventually possess a chain of length N anchored at x at some point during the wild reorg melee.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T20:00:28.236770+00:00