Explore Bitcoin mining through child-chain proofs, Bitcoin Core
observations and recovered records: pool attribution, stale and
orphan evidence, and consensus-invalid blocks. Coinbase
protocol declarations and cited Findings add context to that record.
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1. Blocks outside the active chain
Competing valid blocks can form branches. The active chain
keeps one branch; others become stale, including blocks
displaced by a reorganisation. The active chain alone does
not preserve the whole mining record.
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2. Merge mining stamps a copy
Merge-mined chains reuse Bitcoin's proof of work. A merge-mined child
block carries a
merge-mining proof
embedding the exact Bitcoin header the miner was hashing.
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3. Proof of work is not full validity
A child chain applies its own rules, so it can preserve proof
of a Bitcoin template that meets the target but violates a
Bitcoin consensus rule. These are invalid blocks, distinct from
stale blocks. A header or proof alone does not validate every
transaction in the Bitcoin block.
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4. Classify from the available evidence
Core context establishes chain placement; live checks and a
reviewed catalogue identify known consensus failures. Strict
orphan evidence uses an authenticated coinbase height; weak
evidence relies on timestamp and difficulty-epoch agreement.
Both require Core absence and lineage checks. Incomplete
evidence can remain unknown.