<blockquote>
<p>Is it possible that one node suggests 89123 nonce and other node suggests 30221 nonce, both leading to a valid (but different hashes) leading to 4 zeroes?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is only possible if something has gone horribly wrong. Either these two nodes are cooperating or they aren't cooperating. Let's consider the two cases:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If the two nodes aren't cooperating, why would they mine blocks that differ only in the nonce? That would mean both nodes were trying to deliver the block reward and the transaction fees to the same wallet even though they're not cooperating. That makes no sense.</p>
</li>
<li><p>If the two nodes are cooperating, why would they both be working on the same block? That would require them to divide the nonce space, which is extraordinarily inefficient because realistic miners go through all nonces in a tiny fraction of a second. Every sensible form of cooperative mining ensures that no two nodes are working on the same block so each node can use the full nonce space without duplicating work.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>So this should never happen. If two blocks for the same height get mined at about the same time, they will be blocks that differ in more than just the nonce.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-16T10:19:32.773Z
2022-02-16T10:19:32.773Z
David Schwartz
<p>Yes, I believe there can be many nonce values that produce a hash whose numeric value is less than the current target. Particularly as other data can be varied too. The probability obviously depends on the target.</p>
<p>The order in which a miner tries nonce values is not prescribed but is any order chosen by the miner.</p>
<p>See also</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/102414/13866">How does solving a block work in relation to the first letter/number after the 0&#39;s?</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-18T10:00:21.720Z
2021-09-18T10:48:00.393Z
2021-09-18T10:48:00.393Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>Is it possible to have different nonce which are satisfying the same condition of having let's say 4 leading zeroes in the hash?</p>
<p>Is it possible that one node suggests 89123 nonce and other node suggests 30221 nonce, both leading to a valid (but different hashes) leading to 4 zeroes?</p>
<p>Does nonce calculation always start from 0 or 1 up to infinity?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-18T04:53:32.297Z
Nonce is 32 bits and can't get anywhere near infinity. And extranonce (in coinbase), which is what modern miners actually need to vary to find a winning block, although larger is still finite.
dave_thompson_085
<cryptography><sha256>
Can we have multiple possible nonce making same number of leading zeroes in the hash?
Mathew Pitcher
# Can we have multiple possible nonce making same number of leading zeroes in the hash?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-09-18)

Is it possible to have different nonce which are satisfying the same condition of having let's say 4 leading zeroes in the hash?

Is it possible that one node suggests 89123 nonce and other node suggests 30221 nonce, both leading to a valid (but different hashes) leading to 4 zeroes?

Does nonce calculation always start from 0 or 1 up to infinity?

**Tags:** cryptography, sha256

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Nonce is 32 bits and can't get anywhere near infinity. And extranonce (in coinbase), which is what modern miners actually need to vary to find a winning block, although larger is still finite.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-02-16. Score: 2

> Is it possible that one node suggests 89123 nonce and other node suggests 30221 nonce, both leading to a valid (but different hashes) leading to 4 zeroes?

This is only possible if something has gone horribly wrong. Either these two nodes are cooperating or they aren't cooperating. Let's consider the two cases:

1. If the two nodes aren't cooperating, why would they mine blocks that differ only in the nonce? That would mean both nodes were trying to deliver the block reward and the transaction fees to the same wallet even though they're not cooperating. That makes no sense.
2. If the two nodes are cooperating, why would they both be working on the same block? That would require them to divide the nonce space, which is extraordinarily inefficient because realistic miners go through all nonces in a tiny fraction of a second. Every sensible form of cooperative mining ensures that no two nodes are working on the same block so each node can use the full nonce space without duplicating work.

So this should never happen. If two blocks for the same height get mined at about the same time, they will be blocks that differ in more than just the nonce.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2021-09-18. Score: 1

Yes, I believe there can be many nonce values that produce a hash whose numeric value is less than the current target. Particularly as other data can be varied too. The probability obviously depends on the target.

The order in which a miner tries nonce values is not prescribed but is any order chosen by the miner.

See also

* [How does solving a block work in relation to the first letter/number after the 0's?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/102414/13866)


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