Collects questions about the rules, precision, and utility of the timestamp in block headers.
Questions tagged [timestamp]
113 questions
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where do the timestamps on blocks come from?
A stork brings them... or...
One of the basic principles on a dist. system is lack of a global clock.
So how are the timestamps assigned to blocks, by the machine that mines it? Couldn't it just insert a fake one?
On page 7 of the Ethereum…

smatthewenglish
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From the Whitepaper: Timestamps prove that the data must have existed at the time"
The whitepaper says exactly this: "The timestamp proves that the data must have existed at the time, obviously, in order to get into the hash. Each timestamp includes the previous timestamp in its hash, forming a chain, with each additional…

Jeff
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Proving the margin of error of a block timestamp
In the Bitcoin wiki:
Block times are accurate only to within an hour or two.
is a bit vague. Is it possible to prove that an arbitrary accepted block timestamp is within x seconds of the real-world time? How?

Victor
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Softening the 2106 hard fork
Following along the 2106 problem solution proposed in Will a hard fork be required to change timestamp fields? …
Is it possible to start including this logic into newer versions of core (is it already there?), or will this need to be a simultaneous…
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Why is there no block time bias to <10min due to increasing hashrate?
Since the difficulty adjustment is based on a 2016 block window from the past, if we assume that the hashrate of the network is steadily increasing over time (up to temporary disturbances), why do people say that a block is created approximately…

phinz
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