F2Pool Mining Pool Generates Invalid Bitcoin Block – BitMEX Research Discovers

BitMEX, a crypto derivatives exchange, indicated that F2Pool, a bitcoin mining pool, generated an invalid block at height 783,426 on April 1, 2023. However, they did not say why and are still investigating the matter.

F2pool has produced an invalid bitcoin block

According to the BitMEX-sponsored node monitoring tool, ForkMonitor, the 783,426 bitcoin spike produced two blocks. The invalid block hash is 00000000000000000002ec935e245f8ae70fc68cc828f05bf4cfa002668599e4.

A bitcoin block is considered valid if it adheres to the rules of the protocol. BitMEX suspects that the invalid block was caused by false signature operations. The exchange stated that it is still looking into the matter and they are trying to explain the anomaly.

BitMEX launched ForkMonitor in 2018 to track hard and soft forks on the Bitcoin blockchain. ForkMonitor is connected to 13 Bitcoin nodes and their hard forks, including Bitcoin Cash. The tool is also used to detect unintentional consensus errors.

Bitcoin blocks are invalid

Events that can invalidate a mined bitcoin block include double spending, where the same money is spent twice. The network will confirm one transaction and reject the other as invalid.

Another reason could be when a miner tries to spend bitcoins that they don’t own. The network will reject the transaction because the user lacks the necessary funds in their wallet.
A transaction that does not pass script validation and whose transaction does not meet the time-locked transaction is considered invalid. Bitcoin blocks are released approximately every 10 minutes as specified at the protocol level.
Some miners choose to start mining without validation to get a head start. However, the risk is still greater than the expected rewards.