You aren't required to include any tx in a block.
You are misunderstanding if you think a "winning" hash is universal however. A block hash below the target difficulty allows the network to accept that block and that block only. So for example this particular block hash only "solves" this EXACT block. Change a single tx and you end up with a completely different block hash.
http://blockr.io/block/info/291962
If you are asking what prevents you from mining "empty" blocks (techincally no block can be empty all must include one and only one coinbase tx)? The answer is simple ... nothing. Of course in time tx fees will become more important so that is a good way to go bankrupt but if you want to do it, nobody can stop you.
Topic: What prevents me from not including transactions in the block when I win? (Read 510 times)
March 23, 2014, 12:17:18 AM
March 23, 2014, 12:16:55 AM
a long time ago there was actually a HUGE miner, something like >10% of the total network who never included transactions in his block. the suspicion was that it was a botnet.
March 23, 2014, 12:07:13 AM
Let's say that I'm the first to hash a block, this gives me the right to publish all the transactions that I've detected to the network, correct?
What if I simply decide to leave out some of the transactions that I correctly detected? What in the protocol keeps me honest, once I've mined a node? I guess the idea is just that someone else will pick them up and include them in the next block and earn the transaction fee off of them?
What if I particularly want to screw with the protocol right here?
What if I simply decide to leave out some of the transactions that I correctly detected? What in the protocol keeps me honest, once I've mined a node? I guess the idea is just that someone else will pick them up and include them in the next block and earn the transaction fee off of them?
What if I particularly want to screw with the protocol right here?
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