Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition

Subchains

This is a relatively new technique recently proposed by Peter R. Rizun which is based on the idea of weak blocks that are created in layers until a strong block is found. Weak blocks can be defined as those blocks that have not been able to be mined by meeting the standard network difficulty criteria but have done enough work to meet another weaker difficulty target. Miners can build subchains by layering weak blocks on top of each other unless a block is found that meets the standard difficulty target.

At this point, the subchain is closed and becomes the strong block. Advantages of this approach include reduced waiting time for the first verification of a transaction. This technique also results in a reduced chance of orphaning ...