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ORPHAN BLOCKS

In this email exchange on the metzdowd Cryptography Mailing List, Satoshi Nakamoto explains the concept of orphan blocks in the Bitcoin system. Orphan blocks occur when two miners solve a block at nearly the same time, causing a temporary fork in the blockchain.

In this email exchange on the metzdowd cryptography mailing list, Satoshi Nakamoto explains the concept of orphan blocks in the Bitcoin system. Orphan blocks occur when two miners solve a block at nearly the same time, causing a temporary fork in the blockchain.

Nakamoto explains that when two blocks are broadcast at the same time, nodes keep both but only work on the one they received first. The tie is broken when the next block is found, as the branch that node was working on becomes the longer one. Regardless of which side it is, the new block will contain the transactions missing from their side, ensuring that all transactions are included.

He further clarifies that it’s not a problem if transactions have to wait one or a few extra cycles to get into a block. This email provides a deep insight into the mechanisms that Nakamoto designed to handle orphan blocks in the Bitcoin system.