Monero Network Experiences Five Orphan Blocks in 24 Hours
Between August 6 and 7, the Monero network experienced five orphan blocks within a 24-hour period. This incident was highlighted by Qubic's core developer, CFB, who suggested a connection to these occurrences.
Orphan blocks occur when multiple miners simultaneously mine valid blocks at the same height, leading to a local chain split. The network adopts the block with the highest proof-of-work, rendering the others invalid.
Key points include:
- Monero Research Labs indicates that orphan blocks are normal in proof-of-work systems.
- The recent cases involved an "unknown" miner winning four out of five occurrences.
- CFB indicated that this behavior could be linked to a "selfish mining strategy" from the Qubic pool.
- Observers noted that Qubic's pool concealed its hashrate, increasing unknown miners' block-discovery share from 2% to 8%.
Monero Orphan Blocks Visualization | Source: moneroconsensus.info
CFB has previously warned about potential orphan blocks on Monero due to Qubic's activities during August. Concerns arise from CFB’s past involvement in Bytecoin, which faced scrutiny for its premine practices.
Commentary from notable figures like Ricardo Spagni suggests that the rate of orphan blocks observed is not significantly abnormal. As developments unfold, stakeholders remain cautious but optimistic regarding the implications for Monero.