From: Erik Aronesty <erik@q32•com>
To: bitcoindev@googlegroups.com
Subject: [bitcoindev] OP_CHECKUTXOSETHASH idea
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2025 17:09:15 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAJowKgLE4kb7qT1NxXrmEssr8+fQGd-=7=m-BAsjePoti8TRRg@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <GDC-d847c0e8-4e35-40c5-87e7-2ab89e13ea09@google.com>
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1671 bytes --]
A soft fork could introduce a new opcode, `OP_CHECKUTXOSETHASH`, allowing
miners to optionally commit a deterministic hash of the current UTXO set
into a block. If present, all nodes must verify its correctness or reject
the block; if absent, the block is still valid. Old nodes treat the opcode
as unspendable, so backward compatibility is preserved.
Because computing the full UTXO root is costly, this makes each checkpoint
intentionally expensive to produce, ensuring that miners will only include
them when compensated with sufficient fees. Additionally, it could be
limited to one per block.
The result is a voluntary, self-limiting, incentive-aligned, fee-driven
system where checkpoints are cheaply consensus-enforced when included but
never mandatory.
Most nodes could operate on a rolling history validated by occasional,
high-value commitments, while archival nodes remain free to preserve the
full chain. This reduces the burden of initial sync and resource use
without sacrificing Bitcoin’s security model, since any invalid checkpoint
would invalidate its block.
In practice, the chain becomes more efficient for everyday use while the
historical record remains intact for those willing to bear the expense of
maintaining it.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bitcoin Development Mailing List" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bitcoindev+unsubscribe@googlegroups•com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bitcoindev/CAJowKgLE4kb7qT1NxXrmEssr8%2BfQGd-%3D7%3Dm-BAsjePoti8TRRg%40mail.gmail.com.
[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 2187 bytes --]
parent reply other threads:[~2025-09-30 0:11 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed
[parent not found: <GDC-d847c0e8-4e35-40c5-87e7-2ab89e13ea09@google.com>]
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to='CAJowKgLE4kb7qT1NxXrmEssr8+fQGd-=7=m-BAsjePoti8TRRg@mail.gmail.com' \
--to=erik@q32$(echo .)com \
--cc=bitcoindev@googlegroups.com \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox