Sync Bitcoin Faster! Assume UTXO - The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado

On this episode of The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Aaron and Sjors discuss “Assume UTXO,” a proposal and project by Chaincode Labs alumnus James O’Beirne.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, bottlenecks for scaling Bitcoin is initial block download: the time it takes for a Bitcoin node to synchronize with the Bitcoin network, as it needs to process all historic transactions and blocks in order to construct the latest UTXO-set: the current state of bitcoin-ownership.

Aaron and Sjors explain some of the ways sync-time has been sped up over time. First, sync-time was improved through “Headers First” synchronization, which ensures that new Bitcoin nodes don’t waste time validating (potentially) weaker blockchains. In recent years, sync-time has been improved with “Assume Valid,” an optional shortcut that lets nodes skip signature verification of older transactions, instead trusting that the Bitcoin Core development process in combination with the resource-expensive nature of mining offers a reliable version of transaction history.

Finally, they explain how the security assumptions underpinning Assume Valid could be extended to allow for the potential future upgrade Assume UTXO to offer new Bitcoin Core users a speedy solution to get up to speed with the Bitcoin network, sacrificing a minimal amount of security during the initial bootstrapping phase.

Helpful links for following along wit the episode:

Chaincode podcast about the same topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knBHvzKsIOY

Pull request:
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues/15605

Support the show!

Follow Aaron van Wirdum on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AaronvanW
Follow Sjors Provoost on Twitter: @provoost

Music:
Title: Segwit Sounds
Artist: The NakamoTones
Album: Citadel Music
Producer: Bitcoin Audio

For more compelling video content from Bitcoin's original publication, subscribe and turn on notifications for the Bitcoin Magazine YouTube channel.

Connect with us on social media and join the conversation:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitcoin-magazine/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BitcoinMagazine
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bitcoin

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive news and analysis before anyone else: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/subscribe

Listen and subscribe to our podcasts:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bitcoin-magazine/id1459884105
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1IxBiqXrUwWUgwiQwKWwxk?si=i1YLDbXySIGGZ1owRdgXtQ
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2JpdGNvaW5tYWdhemluZS5idGMubGlic3lucHJvLmNvbS9yc3M

~

Bitcoin Black Friday is almost here! Don’t miss the best deals in BTC: https://www.bitcoinblackfriday.com/
Bitcoin 2021 will be the biggest Bitcoin conference ever! Get your ticket now: https://b.tc/conference