What is Selfish Mining?

In its most basic definition, mining refers to the system in which miners are rewarded with cryptocurrency as a result of adding new blocks to the blockchain. Selfish mining refers to a malicious strategy created by miners to increase their profits. Selfish miners hide the blocks they have added to the blockchain and aim to extend this hidden branch by forking. If you’re wondering what selfish mining is, then you will find the answer in this article.

What is selfish mining?

Selfish mining refers to the strategy in which miners aim to make a profit by hiding the blocks they add to the blockchain. Miners who apply selfish mining are called selfish miners. Selfish miners aim to be rewarded with more Bitcoin by causing honest miners to mine on a false blockchain.

How does selfish mining happen?

Selfish miners do not immediately publish the blocks they add to the blockchain and hold them. As a result, a fork occurs in the blockchain. This fork may mislead other miners, causing them to mine on the wrong blockchain. Miners who transact on a wrong blockchain waste their energy and resources.

As a result of honest miners transacting on fake blockchain, it is possible for selfish miners to gain unfair advantage. Selfish miners aim to earn more Bitcoin through the efforts of other miners with their hidden blockchain. Since the energy cost spent in selfish mining is reduced compared to normal conditions, there is also a case of making a profit in this sense.

Is selfish mining a problem for Bitcoin?

Selfish mining carries the risk of centralization of mining. The centralization of mining is in stark contrast to Bitcoin’s philosophy. However, it is unrealistic to talk about the selfish mining threat to Bitcoin. There are precautions that can be taken against selfish mining and some theories about this issue.

Frehness Preferred, proposed by Ethan Heilman in 2014, is one of these measures. Freshness Preffered is a defense mechanism that punishes selfish miners. Hidden blocks created by selfish miners are blocked and selfish miners are punished.

Another theory put forward by Jake Gober in 2018 revealed that selfish mining is not more profitable than honest mining. According to Gober’s theory, if selfish mining were more profitable than honest mining, everyone would be mine selfishly, and the selfishness would reduce profitability as it would create a race between selfish mining groups.