From 4c778724188aae0c47bf07bac888d0c2e6e9199a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "myarbrough@oreilly.com" Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:28:41 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] Made changes to ch08.asciidoc --- ch08.asciidoc | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/ch08.asciidoc b/ch08.asciidoc index d0885405..2d5557d6 100644 --- a/ch08.asciidoc +++ b/ch08.asciidoc @@ -697,7 +697,7 @@ When a node receives a new block, it will validate the block by checking it agai * The first transaction (and only the first) is a coinbase generation transaction * All transactions within the block are valid using the transaction checklist discussed in <> -The independent validation of each new block by every node on the network ensures that the miners can't cheat. In previous sections we saw how the miners get to write a transaction that awards them the new bitcoins created within the block and claim the transaction fees. Why don't miners write themselves a transaction for a thousand bitcoin instead of the correct reward? Because every node validates blocks according to the same rules. An invalid coinbase transaction would make the entire block invalid, which would result in the block being rejected and, therefore, that transaction would never become part of the ledger. The miners have to construct a perfect block, based on the shared rules that all nodes follow, and mine it with a correct solution to the Proof-Of-Work. To do so they expend a lot of electricity in mining, and if they cheat, all the electricity and effort is wasted. This is why independent validation is a key component of decentralized consensus. +The independent validation of each new block by every node on the network ensures that the miners can't cheat. In previous sections we saw how the miners get to write a transaction that awards them the new bitcoins created within the block and claim the transaction fees. Why don't miners write themselves a transaction for a thousand bitcoin instead of the correct reward? Because every node validates blocks according to the same rules. An invalid coinbase transaction would make the entire block invalid, which would result in the block being rejected and, therefore, that transaction would never become part of the ledger. The miners have to construct a perfect block, based on the shared rules that all nodes follow, and mine it with a correct solution to the proof of work. To do so they expend a lot of electricity in mining, and if they cheat, all the electricity and effort is wasted. This is why independent validation is a key component of decentralized consensus. === Assembling and Selecting Chains of Blocks