Bitcoin miner Marathon mines invalid block in failed ‘experiment’

1 year ago

Marathon said the bug emanated from its experimental mining excavation utilized to probe ways to optimize operations.

Bitcoin miner Marathon mines invalid artifact  successful  failed ‘experiment’

Bitcoin mining steadfast Marathon Digital has confirmed it mined an invalid  Bitcoin (BTC) artifact during an “experiment” aimed astatine optimizing the firm’s operations.

In a Sept. 27 post, Marathon said it utilizes a tiny percent of the firm’s hashrate toward these experiments and stressed they weren’t trying to change the web successful immoderate way:

“In nary mode was this experimentation an effort to change Bitcoin Core successful immoderate way.” Marathon said, emphasizing that they corrected the mistake arsenic soon arsenic they noticed the invalid block.

We tin corroborate that Marathon did excavation an invalid block. We utilize a tiny information of our hash complaint to experimentation with our improvement excavation and probe imaginable methods to optimize our operations. The mistake was the effect of an unanticipated bug that came from 1 of our…

— Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) (@MarathonDH) September 27, 2023

Marathon said the bug, which emanated from the firm’s interior improvement environment, wasn’t related to Marathon’s Bitcoin accumulation excavation oregon Bitcoin Core — the starring bundle utilized to link to the Bitcoin web and tally a node.

The incidental occurred connected Sept. 26 astatine 9:42 p.m. UTC connected artifact 809478, according to mempool.space.

Several Bitcoin developers, on with BitMEX Research attributed the invalid artifact to a “transaction ordering issue.” Bitcoin developer “mononaut” believes Marathon mistake came from resorting the transactions successful bid of ascending implicit fees.

This is what MARA's invalid artifact astatine 809478 looks like:

- pinkish transactions nary longer beryllium successful the main chain
- bluish transactions are invalid owed to ordering (they walk an output from a transaction included aboriginal successful the block) https://t.co/SJI1azOB5Z pic.twitter.com/5gY9TRA2eG

— mononaut (@mononautical) September 27, 2023

Bitcoin expert Dylan LeClair suggested that Marathon should person conducted this experimentation connected a testnet earlier attempting it connected Bitcoin’s mainnet.

In reflection, Marathon said Bitcoin “functioned precisely arsenic designed” by excluding the invalid block:

“This incident, portion unintended, underscores the robust information of the Bitcoin network, which rejected and rectified the anomaly.”

Related: Marathon Digital Q2 results miss gross and net forecasts

Cointelegraph reached retired to Marathon for remark but did not person an contiguous response.

Marathon’s (MARA) stock terms fell 2.91% to $8.01 during opening hours connected Sept. 27, according to Google Finance.

Magazine: ‘Elegant and ass-backward’: Jameson Lopp’s archetypal content of Bitcoin

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