Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital recently confirmed that it mined an invalid Bitcoin (BTC) block as part of an experiment to optimize its operations. The company stated that it utilizes a small percentage of its hashrate for these experiments and emphasized that it was not attempting to alter the network in any way.
Marathon clarified that the bug responsible for the invalid block originated from its internal development environment and was not related to its Bitcoin production pool or Bitcoin Core, the leading software used to connect to the Bitcoin network and run a node. The incident occurred on block 809478 on September 26 at 9:42 pm UTC, according to mempool.space.
Several Bitcoin developers, along with BitMEX Research, attributed the invalid block to a “transaction ordering issue.” Marathon’s mistake may have resulted from resorting the transactions in order of ascending absolute fees.
Bitcoin analyst Dylan LeClair suggested that Marathon should have conducted this experiment on a testnet before attempting it on Bitcoin’s mainnet. This would have helped to prevent such issues from occurring.
In reflection, Marathon acknowledged that Bitcoin “functioned exactly as designed” by excluding the invalid block. The incident served as a reminder of the robust security of the Bitcoin network, which promptly rejected and rectified the anomaly.
Marathon’s share price (MARA) experienced a decline of 2.91% to $8.01 during opening hours on September 27, according to Google Finance.
Cointelegraph reached out to Marathon for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
This incident highlights the importance of thorough testing and caution when conducting experiments in the cryptocurrency space. While innovation and optimization are essential, it is crucial to prioritize the security and stability of the network to prevent any unintended consequences or disruptions.
