Homework on Stale Blocks

[benlive]

1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
   They create two different versions of a blockchain. After some time one blockchain version has more blocks and proof of work than another. The longer blockchain becomes the real blockchain and it gets propagated through the network.

2. What is a stale block?
   It is a block, which was at the blockchain for some time, but it was dropped, because there was a longer blockchain with more proof of work.

3. How do stale blocks occur?
   It occur when two or more blocks get mined at the same time.

4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
   Because that block can become a stale block. The best practise is to wait for 6 confirmations on the same blockchain version.

[LeticiaMentz]

1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
The block to which the next block successfully appends, will form part of the new blockchain and the transactions in the other block will go back to the mempool.
2. What is a stale block?
A stale block is a valid block that forms part of a shorter chain, and get’s dropped as such.
3. How do stale blocks occur?
When newer blocks are added to other blocks faster, a stale block will be dropped, thus not forming part of the blockchain.
4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
To ensure that your block does not become a stale block.

[raulcastrillo]

1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
   Both blocks are considered valid and the miners use any of them to go on with the validation of future blocks. The next block mined is the one that validates one of those blocks and discards the other one, as this miner has use only one of the validated blocks to generate the new block.

2. What is a stale block?
   All blocks that were created but discarded afterwards are stale blocks

3. How do stale blocks occur?
   By validating 2 blocks at the same time, and afterwards discarding one of them.

4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?

I asume that waiting for some blocks prevents that the transactions is considered done but then is not cause it was shown in a stale block. If you wait for some blocks most probably the stale block will be discard, so the transaction won´t be validated, even though in a short period of time it was.

[Keith2]

1. The longest blockchain will win and the others dropped.

2. A stale block is the leftover block which was dropped as part of the smaller string.

3. As above.

4. To ensure that your transactions are not dropped from the chain.

[collectnft_og]

1. When two miners solve a block at the same time, the chain is split, but within 10 minutes,the network will pick the block with the longest history and lower target before confirming.

2. Stale blocks are blocks that were dropped from the network and sent back to the mempool.

3. Stale block occurs when two or more miners mine the same block, transactions become slate when the network decides what block is valid and the other block is now a orphaned or stale block.

4.It is important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending and receiving transactions because a block has not been fully confirmed until it has at least 6 confirmations.
If you don’t wait your transaction could be dropped and send back to mempool.

[DanJackFish]

1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
   Both solutions are propagated to the network, they are picked up my miners mining the next block and when a solution to the next block is found this is then submitted to the network. Miners will select the chain which has the most amount of work done to solve which results in miners selecting blocks which are submitted earlier and therefore have a longer chain and cumulative work. This results in some solutions being abandoned by the network.
2. What is a stale block?
   A block solution which has not been confirmed and incorporated into subsequent blocks.
3. How do stale blocks occur?
   An alternative solution is propagated faster and the stale block is not chosen by the consensus as the next block to begin mining on.
4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
   A transaction can be confirmed provisionally and this my be reverted if the block in which the transaction exists becomes a stale block.

[earlyster]

@ivan

• What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?

There will be two different blocks added to the blockchain with different values for nonce.

@ivan

• What is a stale block?

A stale block is a block that has no subsequent blocks added to it and the transactions are returned to the mem-pool to be added to a new block.

@ivan

• How do stale blocks occur?

Stale blocks occur when there is more than one valid block added to the blockchain at the same time and then new blocks are added to the competing chain making that chain longer and the stale block no longer relevant.

@ivan

Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?

You want to make sure your transaction is accepted by the blockchain and not put on a stale block where the transaction is returned to the mempool and no longer confirmed. Best practice is to wait for at least 6 subsequent blocks.

[Avinash_Chulani]

1. Both blocks will be valid, one will come to an end and the longest blockchain will survive.

2. Stale blocks are blocks that were in the blockchain at one time but got dropped because another blockchain was longer.

3. Once a blockchain gets ahead(6 confirmed blocks) of the other the shorter blockchain will be eliminated and so stale block occur.

4. It is important so that the blockchain won’t have and stale blocks.

[silviyaPB]

1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?

• One of those will be abandoned -> stale. Which one will be stale depends on the next blocks that are added. At certain point one branch of the blockchain will get longer than the other one and that longer one will be considered the source of truth.

2. What is a stale block?

• A block that is technically valid but had to be abandoned.

3. How do stale blocks occur?

• A stale block occurs when two miners produce valid block at the exact same time.

4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?

• By waiting for more than one block (about 6 consecutive blocks) the likelihood the block in question to become stale decreases.

[Anthrax-the-clown]

1. The block with the longest chain wins. All transactions are returned to the mempool and the other block is discarded and viewed as stale block.

2. A block that gets discarded into mempool in favor of the longer block chain with more proof of work.

3. tale blocks occur after a fork is resolved with a longer chain

4. If you only wait one block then there is a chance the last block would be discarded as a stale block and then the transaction may fail.

[flavorkicker]

1. If two miners solve a block at the same time they are both considered valid until a third miner starts the next block off of one of their blocks and which ever block ends up with the longer chain becomes valid with all nodes and the other block goes back to the mempool.

2. A stale block is a block that was in the blockchain but got dropped.

3. Stale blocks occurs when a block is mined but then later gets dropped due to a longer chain.

4. It is important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction because there is a possibility the block your transaction is in can be dropped.

[CD_Oro]

What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?

• They create two versions of truth processing different transactions.

What is a stale block?

• Stale blocks are blocks that are dropped and invalidated when it has unsuccessfully appended to the network.

How do stale blocks occur?

• Stale block occurs when a competing block has longer blocks processed into it, which means more proof of work, and its version of truth is accepted first by the network.

Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?

• Stale blocks transactions return to the mempool. If you have more blocks confirmed it means that your transaction belonged to a block that was accepted by the network.

[abel2s]

1. It creates a fork in the block.

2. A stale block is a block that was dropped from the block chain.

3. When a fork occurs, when 2 miners solve a block at the same time, and one block gets appended to the chain, the other block is dropped and becomes a stale or orphan block.

4. Time allows for 6 or more confirmations to occur in the block chain, so we know which block has been appended to the chain.

[juanmcba]

1. The blockchain splits into 2 as both blocks are valid. So it depends on the next miner which block he will chose to continue the chain.

2. It’s a block that was dropped from the current blockchain.

3. When two or more miners solve a block at the same time.

4. To ensure we are in the longest chain.

[Colton_Strickland]

1. The longest chain will be accepted out of the two chains.

2. A stale block is a block that was not confirmed in the chain.

3. Stale blocks occur when the block is left behind in a sequence of blocks because it was not mined fast enough.

4. Waiting for confirmations ensures your transaction to be accepted into the block.

[Helena1]

1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?

When two miners solve a block at the same time, the network will choose the block that is the longest and more difficult.

2. what is a stale block?

A stale block is transactions from the blockchain that was not chosen by the network and were removed or dropped and the transactions sent back to the mempool.

3. How do stale blocks occur?

Stale blocks occur when the mining block time is less than ten minutes and more blocks are produced under ten minutes.

4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?

It is important to wait for more than one block when sending a transaction because the block that your transaction is on may not be picked up but dropped or removed by the network and becomes a stale or orphaned block.

[rachel]

1. if two miners solve a block at the same time they are both classed as valid by the nodes closest to each, so the chain forks until a new block is mined, creating a longer chain. the block with the longest chain wins and the other is no longer valid.

2. the blocks that are not valid and dropped from the blockchain are known as stale blocks, they go back into the mempool.

3. stale blocks occur when more than one miner solves different blocks in different places, only one upended block can form a chain and the one left behind with the short link gets dropped by the network.

4. to avoid stale or orphaned blocks happening too much, the network only releases one block every 10 minutes and regulates difficulty, to allow time for the network and all the nodes to find and validate each block. once a block is confirmed it could still get dropped due to a longer chain elsewhere so it is important to wait for more confirmed transactions to ensure your block is true

[KeyB]

1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
1.A. It creates two versions of the truth having two chains with valid transactions.

2. What is a stale block?
2.A. A stale block has no valid chain but was mined with valid transactions from an existing chain.

3. How do stale blocks occur?
3.A. Stale blocks occurs when two miners mine blocks at the same time, the stale block is the redundant chain left after the network chooses to validate the other chain and continue mining.

4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
4.A. It is best practice to wait for six confirmations from the network in case of accepting a block that ends up as stale/orphaned state.

[A.Eles]

1. The network would then have two versions of the truth as the transactions in those blocks don’t have to be identical. So both blocks would be valid until sooner or later another miner comes along and adds their blocks to one of them making that blockchain longer and eventually the shorter blockchain would be removed and the transactions will be returned to the mempool.

2. Stale blocks are blocks that were once in the blockchain but got dropped because there was a longer version of the blockchain without those blocks in it.

3. A stale block occurs when two miners from different locations have appended a block at the same time in to the blockchain causing a fork and eventually one will be removed.

4. To be sure that your block doesn’t get dropped back into the mempool.

[Leedecker425]

1.When 2 miners solve a block at the same time the block in the longest chain wins and the other block is discarded and considered a stale or orphaned block. All the transactions are returned to the mempool
2. A Stale block is a block that was in the blockchain but then dropped because another block that was produced at the same time was part of a longer chain.
3.Stale blocks only occur when one block beats another block on getting connected to a longer blockchain
4. It is important to wait for 6 confirmations to be sure that the block your transactions are in is not dropped from the chain.