Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
With the current block validation rules, Bitcoin will "die" on 2106-02-07, when the unsigned 32-bit timestamp rolls over.
Describe the solution you'd like
Currently, Bitcoin's timestamp protection rules work as follows:
- The new block timestamp may not be lower than the median of the last 11 blocks'
- The new block timestamp may not be greater than the current time plus two hours
If they would be changed to the following, the problem would be solved:
- The new block timestamp plus k*2^32, where k is an integer, may not be lower than the median of the last 11 blocks'
- The new block timestamp plus k*2^32, where k is an integer, may not be greater than the current time plus two hours
- The values of k in 1 and 2 must be the same
This would cause a hardfork in 2106, which is 85.5 years from now, by which time 95% of nodes would hopefully have updated.
Describe alternatives you've considered
64-bit timestamps have been proposed. They would break compatibility with a lot of other software, and cause a hardfork before the date of timestamp overflow.
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
With the current block validation rules, Bitcoin will "die" on 2106-02-07, when the unsigned 32-bit timestamp rolls over.
Describe the solution you'd like
Currently, Bitcoin's timestamp protection rules work as follows:
If they would be changed to the following, the problem would be solved:
This would cause a hardfork in 2106, which is 85.5 years from now, by which time 95% of nodes would hopefully have updated.
Describe alternatives you've considered
64-bit timestamps have been proposed. They would break compatibility with a lot of other software, and cause a hardfork before the date of timestamp overflow.