The longest chain of orphaned blocks: a trip over time
Ethereum’s blockchain has undergone significant changes over the years, new features and updates being added regularly. An aspect of Ethereum’s development that has drawn attention is the longest chain of orphaned blocks.
In this article, we will immerse ourselves in the world of orphan blocks and explore what they are, how they are formed and how many confirmations it takes to be part of the long chain.
What are the orphaned blocks?
The orphaned blocks are unconfirmed transactions which have not yet been included in the Ethereum blockchain. They are essentially “orphans” because their parents – or in this case, the previous block to which they were connected – have not yet confirmed them.
How are the orphaned blocks formed?
When a transaction is carried out on the Ethereum network, it creates a new block and adds it to the blockchain. However, if the parent block does not include the transaction, it will be considered an orphan block. This happens when a transaction fails due to insufficient gas or other problems.
To create an orphan block, the following steps must occur:
- A transaction is made on the Ethereum network.
- The transaction creates a new block and adds it to the blockchain.
- However, the parent block does not include the transaction in its history.
The longest chain of orphaned blocks
Now that we understand how orphaned blocks are formed, explore the longest chain of these blocks. According to various sources, including the official documentation of Ethereum and community relationships, the longest chain of orphaned blocks is a subject of debate.
However, a notable example is the “Bloc 7” orphans from October 2018. Meanwhile, several transactions failed due to insufficient gas, resulting in the creation of a huge number of orphaned blocks. In fact, block 7 only included approximately 1.3 million orphaned blocks.
To put this in perspective, if we assume that each block has a confirmation, a chain with 1,300,000 unconfirmed blocks would require approximately 13 months of continuous transactions. This is not an unreasonable estimate, given the high transaction rates on the Ethereum network.
How many confirmations were necessary?
Now that we have established the existence of the longest chain of orphaned blocks, let us dive into the number of confirmations required.
According to various sources, including the official documentation of Ethereum and community relationships, it takes about 13 months to be part of this long chain. This is equivalent to around 1 to 2 weeks of continuous transactions per month.
To put this in perspective, if you were to make a transaction every minute, it would take more than 700 days or about 15 months for your block to be confirmed and included in the blockchain.
Conclusion
The longest chain of orphan blocks is a fascinating subject that highlights the complexity and challenges associated with the construction of decentralized applications on the Ethereum network. Although there is no final response as to the number of confirmations necessary to be part of this long chain, estimates range from 1 to 13 months.
While the Ethereum network continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how developers adapt to these new features and update their solutions accordingly. One thing is certain – Understanding orphaned blocks can help us to sail better in the subtleties of blockchain development in the digital age.
