During the last few weeks, a number of individuals have been discussing the upcoming release of Bitcoin Core version 24.0 and how the codebase will include full-replace-by-fee (RBF) logic. The discussion has become controversial as a few Lightning Network and zero confirmation advocates have expressed a distaste for the full-RBF idea. The CEO of Synonym, John Carvalho, has been a vocal critic of the proposal on Twitter and on Nov. 3, Carvalho remarked that a subset of Core developers “are currently trying to attack Bitcoin by forcing a pet agenda to make all transactions RBF by default.”
Bitcoin Core Version 24.0 to Provide Full-RBF Logic, Zero-Confirmation and Lightning Network Advocates Speak out Against the Proposal
Ever since replace-by-fee (RBF) was introduced in 2014 by software developer Peter Todd, the topic has been a sensitive subject. Essentially, RBF allows bitcoin users to leverage the feature in order to replace an unconfirmed transaction with an alternative transaction with an increased fee. However, when a transaction is included in a block, it cannot be superseded by RBF at that point. The scheme only works with zero-confirmation (0-conf) transactions (txns). Zero-confirmation transactions are transfers that can be accepted by a merchant or service via a network broadcast, well before a miner confirms the transaction in a block.
According to various reports, Bitcoin Core version 24.0 will provide full-RBF logic and the idea has fueled more controversy. “Until now, Bitcoin Core nodes applied the ‘first seen’ rule, which meant that conflicting transactions wouldn’t be accepted in the node’s memory pool (mempool) and forwarded to peers,” a summary described by Bitcoin Magazine details. “With this upcoming release, users can choose to make their nodes accept and forward conflicting transactions if they include a higher fee than (the) earlier transaction(s) they conflict with.”
However, Bitcoin Magazine’s summary does not include the controversial arguments against full-RBF logic. A number of critics have said that transaction replacement harms the network, and that it helps promote double-spend attacks. The double spend attack assertion has been argued since RBF was first introduced into Bitcoin Core version 0.12. In another summary of Bitcoin Core version 24.0, a Medium post published on Oct. 29, the author mentions some of the detractors and arguments against the full-RBF scheme. The author quotes the founder…
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