Marathon Digital Holdings Mines Invalid Bitcoin Block Due to Transaction Ordering Issue
Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), a leading Bitcoin mining company, recently mined an invalid Bitcoin block at height 809478. The issue was caused by a transaction ordering problem within Marathon’s mining pool, MaraPool.
An Anonymous Developer Reports the Issue
An anonymous Bitcoin developer known as 0xB10C first brought attention to the problem on social media. They identified a specific transaction in the invalid block that led to its invalidation. This transaction attempted to spend an output from another transaction positioned lower down in the block.
The developer also suggested that Marathon Digital might be running custom code, deviating from established practices.
Confirmation from Jameson Lopp and BitMEX Research
Jameson Lopp, co-founder of CasaHODL, confirmed the issue on his nodes. BitMEX Research, a well-known cryptocurrency research firm, provided additional insights, stating that the block’s invalidation resulted from incorrectly arranged transactions.
MARA made an error in arranging their Bitcoin transactions by including a transaction that used an output from a preceding transaction. This incorrect ordering rendered the entire block invalid.
Marathon Confirms the Incident
Marathon later confirmed the reports on social media.
Hot Take: Marathon Digital’s Invalid Block Highlights Importance of Proper Transaction Ordering
The incident involving Marathon Digital’s invalid Bitcoin block serves as a reminder of the criticality of proper transaction ordering in maintaining blockchain integrity. Errors in arranging transactions can lead to invalid blocks and potentially disrupt the entire network. It is crucial for mining companies and developers to adhere to established practices and ensure accurate transaction sequencing to prevent such incidents from occurring.
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