Homework on Stale Blocks

Blockchain and Bitcoin 101
#542

  1. The longest chain wins. So the next miner chooses and that then drops the other chain which is now shorter.

  2. It is the dropped block so essentially the shorter block that gets dropped.

  3. It is a fork that is created when 2 miners solve the nonce and upend at the same time.

4.6 confirmations typically remove the stale blocks and that is when the correct blocks have been added to the chain. In about 10 minutes.

#543

What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
The network will look for the greatest proof of work/the longest chain and six approvals before adding the block.

What is a stale block?
It is a block that has been dropped by the network.

How do stale blocks occur?
When another block or blocks from a longer chain has been chosen. The network rewards proof of work.

Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
To ensure that the network has added the block to the block chain. Six confirmations will be necessary.

#544

  1. When this happens, these two blocks are added to the blockchain. The one that is the longest in the end, becomes the verified one.

  2. A stale block is a block that is added to the blockchain, while simultaneously another block is added at the same time that will later on become the valid one. The one that gets stopped is called the staled block.

  3. See 2.

  4. Because another block can be added and get longer over time, and then your block can become a stale block.

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#545
  1. The block adopted most quickly by other miners and produce another block first will be chosen. The other block will not be verified and the transaction will return to the mempool.
  2. A stale block is a solved block that gets dropped because another version of the block chain with a different block was adopted universally.
  3. A stale block occurs when two miners are solving for the same block and both produce an extension of the blockchain simultaneously.
  4. To confirm that the blockchain your transaction is included in has been adopted universally as the truth.
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#546

In bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time the network will take the one with the longest chain. A stable block is a block that started through the network and gets dropped. A stable block occurs when two miners solve a block at the same time. It is important to wait ten minutes for one block to confirm so the network has time to sync.

#547

  1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
    Both solutions get into the network and the next block is mined. In the end the longer chain will win and at this time the other solution gets refused (so all transactions within go back to the mempool)

  2. What is a stale block?
    Refused / dropped blocks

  3. How do stale blocks occur?
    This happens when two miners solve a block at the same time :wink:

  4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
    Could be that your transaction is in a block that gets dropped because of stale block …

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#548

  • What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
    They will be accepted. There will be 2 versions of the blockchain at that point in time. However the longest blockchain will win. As soon as one of the 2 versions will find the next correct block the other one will be dropped. This is a stale block or orphan block.

  • What is a stale block?
    See previous answer :slight_smile:

  • How do stale blocks occur?
    See first answer.

  • Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
    You want to be absolutely certain your transaction has not been verified and confirmed inside a stale block. To avoid this just wait a few more blocks to increase the probability the transaction is valid.

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#549
  1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
    The chain is split into two, but only one block will added to the chain, which is the chain with the longest PoW.
  2. What is a stale block?
    It is a valid mined block, but it has not been accepted to the blockchain network.
  3. How do stale blocks occur?
    If two blocks are mined at the same time, the network will accept the block with the longest chain/ PoW. So, the block that isn’t accepted onto the network will become a stale block.
  4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
    To ensure the block is adopted on to the blockchain.
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#550

  1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
    The blockchain will split, with two versions of truth in circulation, but will be resolved as soon as a longer chain is established… the longer chain winning and becoming the published truth.

  2. What is a stale block?
    When split blockchain is resolved, the shorter discarded block is the stale block. This block’s transactions are returned to the mempool

  3. How do stale blocks occur?
    Stale blocks occur when more than one miner propagates a new block to the network at the same time. This is more likely to happen when the difficulty is too easy, and a block duration of less than ten minutes is active. A window of ten minutes per block is optimal for new blocks to propagate

  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 confirmations since even if, as a miner, you have submitted a valid block to the network it is possible in the stale block scenario for the block to be dropped. Best practice would to wait for six confirmations

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#551
  1. Work continues. Eventually will be discarded
  2. Blocks that were added but aren’t part of the longest chain. Get discarded
  3. Block is solved but isn’t member of longest possible chain bc they don’t know the other exists
  4. Avoid stale blocks
#552
  1. If two miners solve a block at the same time then there will be two blockchains.
  2. A stale block that has been confirmed but removed from the blockchain because it is the shortest.
  3. It occurs when two different versions of truth are propagated throughout the network however the longest one will remain and the shorter chain will be abandoned
  4. It is important because a block can be dropped due to becoming stale. Waiting will allow that the transactions will stay on the blockchain.
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#553

  1. What happens in the bitcoin network when two miners solve a block at the same time?
    a) The chain which has the most confirmed blocks will eventually become the new chain. The competing block with all the transactions will be orphaned and put into the mempool.

  2. What is a stale block?
    a) A block no longer part of the chain due to being kicked out because the other blocked confirmed at the same time has become longer.

  3. How do stale blocks occur?
    a) When miners confirmed and verified two blocks at the same time but the blockchain continued with one of them which then created a stale block and returning all transactions to the mempool.

  4. Why is it important to wait for more than one block to be confirmed when sending or receiving a transaction?
    a) A recommended time for blocks to be confirmed is 6 so that you know for sure it won’t be a stale block.

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#554

  1. Both begin to be propagated through the network simultaneously, but one will eventually be dropped. The one that survives, does so because it has more PoW, in other words, the one with the highest degree of difficulty wins.

  2. A legitimate block that was not successfully added to the blockchain.

  3. It occurs when the network validates a block with more PoW, and drops the easier block.

  4. More than 6 validations are best because it ensures that the transaction sent is placed in a block that will not become staled.

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#555

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

  2. It splits into two chains of which both are “technically” correct.

  3. A block that was confirmed but didnt have another block hashed after it before another block did.

  4. Two blocks get mined at the same time and once another chain is longer and gets broadcast to more computers than the other it becomes a stale block

  5. In case your transaction is in a block that becomes stale

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#556

1: The longer block will usually be accepted into the blockchain. The other block will go back into the mempool.

2: A stale block is a block which was solved but was later dropped.

3: Stale blocks occur when two blocks are solved at about the same time. The longer block witch becomes part of a longer chain becomes the perminant block of record. The other block goes back to the mempool.

4: It is important to wait for at least six confirmations because one wants to be sure that the confirmed block does not end up becoming a stale block.

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#557

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

  2. What is a stale block?

  3. How do stale blocks occur?

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

  5. Both miners and miners that receive will add their block to the blockchain and continue to try and mine the next block. When another miner achieves an additional block, the next longest chain becomes the valid blockchain.

  6. A stale block is a block that was mined but lost out to a longer blockchain.

  7. Stale blocks occur by two miners successfully mining blocks simultaneously. When a longer chain is created, the block that is left out of the longer chain is the stale block and is discarded by the network.

  8. It is important to wait so that you can ensure the block your transaction was recorded in is apart of the true, longest blockchain.

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#558
  1. The longest chain will win. The winning block will be added and the losing block will be sent back into the mempool.
  2. A stale or orphaned block is the block that has been removed from the chain and sent back to mempool.
  3. Stale blocks occur when two miners mine the same block at the same time, the more accurate block wins and the other becomes stale.
  4. It greatly reduces the chances of a block going stale.
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#559

  1. Then temporarily there are two versions of the Blockchain. One of the Blocks will ultimately get dropped by the Miners, depending on which Version of the blockchain gets hashed (which of the coexisting blocks) to be sure wait for six additional Blocks (6 confirmations). The Nodes prefer the longest Blockchain in terms of pow.

  2. A stale Block is a dropped block which was once part of the blockchain, but then a miners kept on working with another valid version of the blockchain.

  3. If two miners solve a block at approx. the same time, the next solved block gets appended to one version only, the other version of the blockchain is now invalid.

  4. Because it could occur again that two miners solve a block simultaneously. After 6 Blocks the chances are really low that this happens again.

#560
  1. Both blocks get accepted by their nearest nodes and when the approx 10-minute interval passes, the blockchain with the most confirmations (other added blocks after it) will be generally accepted.
  2. The identical block(s) that got left out after the accepted longer variation of the blockchain.
  3. When the approx 10-minute interval passes, the blockchain with the most confirmations (other added blocks after it) will be generally accepted.
  4. In order to ensure our transaction got through and was then cojoined with several other blocks, therefore getting likely accepted as the final version of the blockchain.
#561

  1. They will both append it to the blockchain, and both versions are initially valid. Some nodes will accept the chain from miners 1 and others the chain from miner 2. But when a new block is mined after that - that chain that this miner chooses to append the block to becomes the longest chain, and hence the new version of the truth. The transactions in the block not chosen are returned to the mempool.

  2. A stale block is the block belonging to the not-chosen chain in the example from 1. This block is discarded by the nodes when they recieve the longer chain.

  3. See 1. and 2. - They occur, when an initially valid and accepted block is discarded because another (longer) chain - not containing this block - is propagated through the network

  4. Because in theory all initially valid and accepted blocks risk being stale until all nodes have had the change to catch up with different versions of chains, and the longest chain have been chosen as the way forward

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