bitcoin-dev

Over Half of Replace-by-Fee-Rate Replacements Are Mined

Over Half of Replace-by-Fee-Rate Replacements Are Mined

Original Postby Nagaev Boris

Posted on: February 24, 2024 17:55 UTC

The concept of implementing a pure replacement by fee rate has garnered interest, though there's some skepticism regarding the necessity and implications of the proposed 2x coefficient.

Concerns have been raised about the potential for this mechanism to lead to excessive payment due to its aggressive scaling. The main purpose behind integrating a 2x multiplier appears to be its utility in safeguarding against Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, which might involve minor, yet continuous increments in the feerate to congest the network or impair its functionality.

The dialogue introduces a suggestion to reconsider the scale of increase in fee rates, proposing a more moderate approach. A comparison is made to illustrate the potential impact of different scaling factors on transaction costs. Specifically, it questions whether a less steep increase, such as changing the coefficient to 1.1x (resulting in a rise from 100 sats/byte to 110 sats/byte), could be sufficient for preventing DoS attacks, instead of the substantial jump to 200 sats/byte that a 2x multiplier would entail. This alternative is posited on the basis that a milder increase would be more manageable, especially if the succeeding block feerate is projected to be around 105 sats/byte, thus mitigating the financial burden on users while still addressing security concerns regarding network abuse.