<p>Whoever discovers the block can choose what information to put into it. Therefore a miner that finds a hash that has a sufficient level of difficulty can choose to only include transactions that actually pay their transaction fee.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T18:06:46.330Z
Could they also include arbitrary data as well?
makerofthings7
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T21:24:44.737Z
I am not quite sure, the bitcoin wiki doesn't seem to know. You seemed to have believed that you can, what lead you to believe that?
placeybordeaux
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T17:38:10.160Z
2013-03-06T17:38:10.160Z
placeybordeaux
<p>I'm trying to understand what can happen if </p>

<ul>
<li>A block consists entirely of 3rd party (xCoin) data like Namecoin  </li>
<li>There are no Tx fees to collect since they are on alternate chains.  </li>
<li>Assume that the Block reward is quite low (0.25 BTC).</li>
</ul>

<p>How will mining be profitable?  </p>

<p>If the 3rd party data must subsidize mining, what would that subsidy look like within a block?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T16:04:18.490Z
Exchange rate would be 1000 USD per BTC, so 250 USD per block is not bad.. :)
vi.su.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T16:24:54.103Z
@vi.su [citation needed]
Nick ODell
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T16:29:10.187Z
@makerofthings "A block consists entirely of 3rd party (xCoin) data like Namecoin" NameCoin merged mining adds 32 bytes - which is about 1/5 of one transaction.
Nick ODell
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T16:45:17.017Z
@NickODell Just as Namecoin was invented as an alt chain, what I create one, and then some state does as well.  Add a few others and the quantity of bytes increases....
makerofthings7
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T18:07:32.473Z
If a transaction (e.g., xCoin, your example) isn't "paying the freight" it will be cast aside (e.g., take longer to confirm.)   If system-wide fees are lower, mining capacity drops to match.  That's not a problem unless 51% is a real concern, and that's not a real concern now.
Stephen Gornick
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-07T01:19:47.253Z
Bitcoin reward would be 0.25 BTC in 30 years. 1000 USD exchange rate per BTC is just speculation..
vi.su.
<mining-reward><merged-mining><mining-profitability>
What ultimately happens to mining if blocks contain mostly non-Bitcoin data?
makerofthings7
# What ultimately happens to mining if blocks contain mostly non-Bitcoin data?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-03-06)

I'm trying to understand what can happen if

* A block consists entirely of 3rd party (xCoin) data like Namecoin
* There are no Tx fees to collect since they are on alternate chains.
* Assume that the Block reward is quite low (0.25 BTC).

How will mining be profitable?

If the 3rd party data must subsidize mining, what would that subsidy look like within a block?

**Tags:** mining-reward, merged-mining, mining-profitability

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Exchange rate would be 1000 USD per BTC, so 250 USD per block is not bad.. :)  
> **username_2**: @vi.su [citation needed]  
> **username_2**: @makerofthings "A block consists entirely of 3rd party (xCoin) data like Namecoin" NameCoin merged mining adds 32 bytes - which is about 1/5 of one transaction.  
> **username_0**: @NickODell Just as Namecoin was invented as an alt chain, what I create one, and then some state does as well.  Add a few others and the quantity of bytes increases....  
> **username_3**: If a transaction (e.g., xCoin, your example) isn't "paying the freight" it will be cast aside (e.g., take longer to confirm.)   If system-wide fees are lower, mining capacity drops to match.  That's not a problem unless 51% is a real concern, and that's not a real concern now.  
> **username_1**: Bitcoin reward would be 0.25 BTC in 30 years. 1000 USD exchange rate per BTC is just speculation..  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2013-03-06. Score: 1

Whoever discovers the block can choose what information to put into it. Therefore a miner that finds a hash that has a sufficient level of difficulty can choose to only include transactions that actually pay their transaction fee.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Could they also include arbitrary data as well?  
> **username_4**: I am not quite sure, the bitcoin wiki doesn't seem to know. You seemed to have believed that you can, what lead you to believe that?  

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