Ethereum: Why isn’t transaction replacement supported?
Ethereum: Why is replacement not supported
The Ethereum Community has long discussed the potential traditional transactions with new ones to replace a more effective and scale. However, one of the main features that prevents it from being called “replacement”.
Replacement refers to the process of creating a new transaction that replaces the existing blockchain. This is similar to how the lockout system works on a site where, when trying to apply again after shutdown, your account becomes inaccessible until the problem can be resolved.
The replacement of Ethereum is introduced using a mechanism called “sequence numbers”. When two transactions are created by the same sender, they have different sequence numbers. However, there is a catch: when one of these transactions is processed and approved, the number of sequence becomes higher than the other transaction.
This means that if we were to create new reserve transactions for existing ones, it would not be possible to link them sequentially. The reason for this is simple: the high -order numbers make it impractical to predict which one will be first and why.
Another problem for replacing traditional deals is the fact that the current unanimity algorithm (Ethash) is designed to prioritize the sequence of blocks based on their block height rather than chronological sequence. This means that if we replaced all existing transactions in a particular block, it would create conflicts between them and the new ones.
To further show this concept, let’s consider an example:
Suppose we have two transactions – A and B, with the sequences of 1234567890 and 9876543210 respectively. If we replace the transaction A with a backup transaction C (having the same sequence number as A), it would create conflicts because the block is processed after D and e block.
In summary, although the Ethereum sequence number mechanism allows to determine some replacement between transactions, there are basic elements that prevent it from occurring on a large scale. The current algorithm of consensus on the priority determines the height of the chronological sequence blocks, making it difficult to link replacement transactions in a sequence.