<p>I watched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcuc3rgwZAE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this beautiful video from computerphile</a> which cleared things up a bit. It can take an hour to compute and update the blockchain, no amount of network latency can compete with that.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-26T13:40:47.423Z
2017-04-26T13:40:47.423Z
Souradeep Nanda
<p>This question is based on multiple misconceptions:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Bitcoin blockchain is a globally emerging phenomenon, not a local process.</li>
<li>Updates to the blockchain require finding a block and aren't performed for single transactions.</li>
<li>The delay in transactions getting confirmed isn't caused by latency of transaction propagation, but by block production getting regulated to about one block per ten minutes.</li>
<li>The mining reward is earned by creating a new block that is part of the network's best-chain and from the transaction fees of the transactions confirmed by that block. When you include your own transactions, those transaction fees are paid from your left pocket to your right pocket.</li>
</ul>
<p>The actual lifecycle of a Bitcoin transaction is the following: a Bitcoin user submits a transaction that spends one or more existing Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) and assigns their value to new outputs. This unconfirmed transaction is relayed on the Bitcoin network via the nodes' p2p gossip. Miners hear about the transaction and include it in their block templates. A miner finds a new block including the transaction, thus confirming the transaction and collecting the transaction fee.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-01T18:38:27.007Z
2021-02-01T18:46:02.243Z
2021-02-01T18:46:02.243Z
Murch
<p>Lets say, I have a proper industrial grade mining setup. I have two accounts. I transfer some bitcoins back and forth between two accounts. Both accounts are using the same machine or different machines in the same room. Since the network latency is negligible, it is going to win the race every time (provided the hardware is competitive enough). </p>

<p>This way I can game the system and get a lot of commission for maintaining the ledger for mostly myself.</p>

<p>I do not suppose I am the first guy to come up with this idea. Is there a technical name for it? If is this not feasible, why so?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-22T16:25:03.757Z
What race are you talking about? Creating a block? Trying a double spend? Something else?
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-24T10:40:08.173Z
The bonus you get from maintaining the ledger.
Souradeep Nanda
<transactions><blockchain><mining-theory><confirmations>
Can I earn mining rewards by mining my own transactions?
Souradeep Nanda
# Can I earn mining rewards by mining my own transactions?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-22)

Lets say, I have a proper industrial grade mining setup. I have two accounts. I transfer some bitcoins back and forth between two accounts. Both accounts are using the same machine or different machines in the same room. Since the network latency is negligible, it is going to win the race every time (provided the hardware is competitive enough).

This way I can game the system and get a lot of commission for maintaining the ledger for mostly myself.

I do not suppose I am the first guy to come up with this idea. Is there a technical name for it? If is this not feasible, why so?

**Tags:** transactions, blockchain, mining-theory, confirmations

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What race are you talking about? Creating a block? Trying a double spend? Something else?  
> **username_0**: The bonus you get from maintaining the ledger.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2017-04-26. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

I watched [this beautiful video from computerphile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcuc3rgwZAE) which cleared things up a bit. It can take an hour to compute and update the blockchain, no amount of network latency can compete with that.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-02-01. Score: 0

This question is based on multiple misconceptions:

* The Bitcoin blockchain is a globally emerging phenomenon, not a local process.
* Updates to the blockchain require finding a block and aren't performed for single transactions.
* The delay in transactions getting confirmed isn't caused by latency of transaction propagation, but by block production getting regulated to about one block per ten minutes.
* The mining reward is earned by creating a new block that is part of the network's best-chain and from the transaction fees of the transactions confirmed by that block. When you include your own transactions, those transaction fees are paid from your left pocket to your right pocket.

The actual lifecycle of a Bitcoin transaction is the following: a Bitcoin user submits a transaction that spends one or more existing Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) and assigns their value to new outputs. This unconfirmed transaction is relayed on the Bitcoin network via the nodes' p2p gossip. Miners hear about the transaction and include it in their block templates. A miner finds a new block including the transaction, thus confirming the transaction and collecting the transaction fee.


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