What It Is And Why It Matters
The post What It Is And Why It Matters appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. What Is Selfish Mining? Bitcoin runs on incentives. To keep the network secure, miners are rewarded when they act honestly—processing transactions and adding new blocks to the blockchain. The system assumes that miners will follow the rules because it’s the most profitable option. But what if someone tries to “game” the system for more rewards? That’s where selfish mining comes in. It’s a strategy that lets miners gain an edge by withholding newly mined blocks instead of publishing them immediately. By staying just a few steps ahead of the rest of the network, a selfish miner can trick others into wasting effort on a blockchain that ends up discarded—allowing the selfish miner to claim more rewards. Let’s break it down. How Selfish Mining Works, Simply Explained Imagine four miners—Liam, Maya, Zoe, and Ryan—each control 25% of the Bitcoin network’s computing power. Liam, Maya, and Zoe follow the rules. Ryan doesn’t. Whenever Liam, Maya, or Zoe find a block, they immediately broadcast it to the network. But if Ryan finds one, he keeps it secret. If luck is on his side and he finds a second block before anyone else, he now has a hidden chain that’s longer than the public one. While the others are still trying to catch up, Ryan keeps mining in secret. Once his chain is only one block longer than the public chain, he reveals it. Bitcoin follows the longest chain rule, so the network switches to Ryan’s version. That means all the work done by Liam, Maya, and Zoe gets discarded—and Ryan collects all the block rewards. By manipulating the timing of his block releases, Ryan wastes the resources of the other miners and earns more Bitcoin than his fair share. Is Selfish Mining Dangerous for Bitcoin? It’s not just an annoying trick—it could actually…
The post What It Is And Why It Matters appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
What Is Selfish Mining? Bitcoin runs on incentives. To keep the network secure, miners are rewarded when they act honestly—processing transactions and adding new blocks to the blockchain. The system assumes that miners will follow the rules because it’s the most profitable option. But what if someone tries to “game” the system for more rewards? That’s where selfish mining comes in. It’s a strategy that lets miners gain an edge by withholding newly mined blocks instead of publishing them immediately. By staying just a few steps ahead of the rest of the network, a selfish miner can trick others into wasting effort on a blockchain that ends up discarded—allowing the selfish miner to claim more rewards. Let’s break it down. How Selfish Mining Works, Simply Explained Imagine four miners—Liam, Maya, Zoe, and Ryan—each control 25% of the Bitcoin network’s computing power. Liam, Maya, and Zoe follow the rules. Ryan doesn’t. Whenever Liam, Maya, or Zoe find a block, they immediately broadcast it to the network. But if Ryan finds one, he keeps it secret. If luck is on his side and he finds a second block before anyone else, he now has a hidden chain that’s longer than the public one. While the others are still trying to catch up, Ryan keeps mining in secret. Once his chain is only one block longer than the public chain, he reveals it. Bitcoin follows the longest chain rule, so the network switches to Ryan’s version. That means all the work done by Liam, Maya, and Zoe gets discarded—and Ryan collects all the block rewards. By manipulating the timing of his block releases, Ryan wastes the resources of the other miners and earns more Bitcoin than his fair share. Is Selfish Mining Dangerous for Bitcoin? It’s not just an annoying trick—it could actually…
What's Your Reaction?
