Transaction Lifecycle

Transaction Lifecycle

1. Creation:

   • A user initiates a transaction by signing it with their private key.

   • The transaction includes inputs, outputs, gas limit, gas price, and a nonce.

2. Broadcasting:

   • The signed transaction is broadcast to the network nodes.

   • It enters the Mempool, a collection of all unconfirmed transactions.

3. Validation:

   • Nodes validate the transaction:

     • Syntax and Format: Ensuring the transaction adheres to protocol specifications.

     • Signature Verification: Confirming the authenticity of the sender.

     • Nonce Verification: Checking that the nonce is correct to prevent replay attacks.

     • Gas Limit and Fees: Ensuring the sender has sufficient balance to cover costs.

     • State Checks: Verifying the sender's account balance and contract state.

4. Inclusion in a Block:

   • Miners select transactions from the mempool based on gas price (fees).

   • Transactions are ordered and included in the candidate block.

5. Mining and Block Propagation:

   • Miners solve the PoW puzzle to create a new block.

   • The new block is broadcast to the network.

   • Nodes validate the block and update their local copy of the blockchain.

6. Confirmation:

   • Once a transaction is included in a block and that block is accepted by the network, the transaction is considered confirmed.

   • Due to rapid block times, confirmations occur within seconds.