Technical error in Chapter 7

[sgmavinkurve]

In "Transaction Lock Time Limitations" in Chapter 7, the following line is technically incorrect:

Bob cannot transmit the transaction to redeem the funds until 3 months have elapsed.

Even though Alice sets the transaction lock time to 3 months in the future, Bob can still transmit this transaction to the Bitcoin network immediately. However, the transaction will not be valid and will not be included in a block by miners until the 3-month period has elapsed. This is an important distinction because it highlights that the lock time restricts the validation of the transaction rather than its transmission.

[murchandamus]

At least a Bitcoin Core node will not accept a timelocked transaction into its mempool until it can be included in the next block. Only transactions accepted into a node’s mempool will be relayed. In so far, that sentence seems accurate to me: the locked transaction will not be relayed on the network until the timelock matures.

[sgmavinkurve]

Either way, Bob is still able to transmit the transaction to the network. Whether nodes accept it and whether miners include it in a block is a separate matter.