BIP54: correct the block interval figure in footnote 4 #2341

pull treib-holdings wants to merge 1 commits into bitcoin:master from treib-holdings:bip54-footnote-4 changing 1 files +1 −1
  1. treib-holdings commented at 4:23 PM on November 2, 2026: none

    Footnote 4 says a two-hour grace period instead of ten minutes "only reduces the expected block interval time under attack by ~2.2 seconds", and points to the grace period summary post. That post gives one block every 599.9997 seconds with a ten-minute grace and 596.7211 seconds with two hours, from Pieter Wuille's simulation. The difference is 3.28 seconds. The post's ~0.1% and ~0.65% block rate figures also come to about 3.3 seconds.

    I got the same result independently. A simulation of the attack using Bitcoin Core's retarget arithmetic gives 599.71 and 596.43 seconds (3.27 s), and the closed form (7200 - 600) / 2016 gives 3.27 s.

    This changes ~2.2 to ~3.3. The rationale is unaffected: the two-hour grace still only trivially worsens the block rate under attack.

  2. BIP54: footnote 4, the two-hour grace costs ~3.3 seconds a block, not ~2.2 21a14624b0
  3. jonatack added the label Fixups on Nov 2, 2026
  4. jonatack approved
  5. jonatack commented at 4:27 PM on November 2, 2026: member

    ACK, thanks for the correction

  6. jonatack commented at 4:28 PM on November 2, 2026: member

    cc BIP author @darosior

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