Erlay Running Easy Bitcoin Node – Bitcoin Magazine
Below is a direct excerpt from Marty’s Bent Issue #1274: “Erlay support signaling has been merged into Bitcoin Core.” Sign up for the newsletter here.
via GitHub
It’s been over three years and exactly 696 issues since we last talked about Erlay. In September 2019, we wrote about Pieter Wuille and Gleb Naumenko submitting an official BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) to start the process of getting Erlay merged into the protocol. For those of you who may not be aware of what Erlay is, it is a modification of the transaction relay protocol at the peer-to-peer layer where full nodes communicate and share data about the transactions that have been broadcast to the network. The change will bring significant bandwidth efficiency gains to this peer-to-peer layer, making it easier for more people to run full nodes — especially individuals living in areas with poor internet connectivity.
Here’s a breakdown of the bandwidth efficiency improvements that will come once Erlay is widely adopted by full-node operators:
via bandwidth efficient transaction relay in Bitcoin white paper
We are looking at a massive breakthrough in distributed network engineering that will enable Bitcoin to become a more robust, reliable and private network: more robust because it enables more individuals to participate in network validation by lowering the barrier to entry with reduced internet bandwidth. people can more easily run a full node; more reliable by increasing connectivity between nodes; and more private by making it more difficult for attackers to identify the node from which a transaction originates.
In the midst of the current bear market when many are either fighting, pounding on bitcoin or losing interest altogether, the protocol is approaching a significant peer-to-peer upgrade that most people are unaware of. Slowly but surely, Bitcoin’s fundamentals continue to improve dramatically while everyone focuses on the noise. This is exactly what I love to see.
We should also note the fact that it took almost three and a half years to realize this obscure upgrade from the white paper proposal to the official Bitcoin Improvement Proposal to support the merging of signaling into Bitcoin Core – and there is still more to do after this the merger. It may seem like an insanely long time to some, but it highlights how seriously those working with the protocol approach change. Erlay went through years of discussion, review and testing before he got to the point where nodes can start signaling their support for the new transaction relay protocol. It is a beautiful thing to see.
Don’t let anyone tell you Bitcoiners don’t innovate. We innovate in the areas that are most critical for long-term success. The boring sites that aren’t flashy enough for the clickbait headlines. You will often find that the least flashy areas are the most important, and Erlay is a perfect example of this. Erlay brings a better bitcoin to more people and this is all one should want at the end of the day.
