[Bitcoin-development] Addressing rapid changes in mining power

[Andy Parkins]

On 2011 November 23 Wednesday, Christian Decker wrote:

> The current block generation with a fixed difficulty was chosen because it
> it clear when to adjust and to what target difficulty it has to be
> adjusted. If we were to use synchronized time windows and select the
> hardest block it gets incredibly complicated as synchronization is not
> possible in distributed systems. Even the smallest drift would allow for
> forks in the chain all over the place. Furthermore the delay in propagation
> will also cause forks.
> 
> If 1/2 of the network see one block as the hardest, and for the rest of the
> network it came too late then we'll have a fork that stays with us quite a
> while.
> 
> The block chain is described as a timestamp server in the paper, but it is
> more of a proof-of-existence before, as the contained timestamp cannot be
> trusted anyway.

These are reasonable objections.  My counter is this:

Let's view block difficulty as a measure of time, not time itself.  The 
timestamp is merely a convenience for the block.  You cannot fake the 
computing power needed for a particular difficulty; so the hardest chain 
always wins (note: hardest chain).

If I am a miner, I have two choices:

  (a) try to replace the top block on the current hardest chain
  (b) try to append to the current hardest chain

Either of these is acceptable; but in case (a) I have to generate a more 
difficult block to replace it; in case (b), at the start of the window, any 
difficulty is acceptable (however, I'm competing with other miners, so _any_ 
difficulty won't beat them).

The rule then is that you're trying to win the one block reward that is 
available every 10 minutes; and your peers will be rejecting blocks with 
timestamps that are lies.

Perhaps an example...

 - I (a node), download the blockchain
 - The blockchain has N potential heads.  Each of those heads has a time, t
   and a sum_of_difficulty.
 - The next block reward is going to go to the highest difficulty with
   t < timestamp < (t + T) _and_ verified timestamp (i.e. not received more
   than, say 5 minutes, from its claimed timestamp).
 - I can choose any head to start generating from, but given that it's the
   highest difficulty chain that's going to win the next reward (not the 
   highest difficulty block), I will surely pick the most difficult?
 - A rogue miner then issues a block with a fake timestamp; it actually
   generated at (t + T + 5) but claims (t + 5).  Should I start using
   that block as my new head?  Obviously not, because my peers might decide
   that it is a lie and reject it because it was received too late, making my
   work useless.  It is in my interest to pick a head that is honest.

Resolving forks is easy:

 - 50 coins every ten minutes only
 - most difficult chain wins

I'm certainly not saying it's a simple change.  There are certainly areas I 
haven't thought about, and could be game-overs; but I do like the idea of 
there being no target difficulty, and instead the blocks are issued at a fixed 
ten minute rate (or rather the rewards are).


Andy

-- 
Dr Andy Parkins
andyparkins at gmail.com
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