Chainlink
Priority Channel Transaction Ordering
Context
This figure appears in Section 4 (Decentralized Services Enabled by Decentralized Oracle Networks) during the description of priority channels as a DON-enabled application. Priority channels allow miners to guarantee timely inclusion of select high-priority transactions—such as oracle reports and governance transactions—during periods of network congestion. The figure introduces the concept before the detailed hybrid contract description.
What This Figure Shows
The figure shows a priority channel as a guarantee from a miner M (or a set of miners) to a user U that her transaction will be mined within D blocks of inclusion in the mempool. A DON smart contract (SC) uses DON monitoring to enforce the service terms of the channel. The DON executable monitors the mempool and sends success or failure signals to SC based on whether M fulfilled its commitment. Upon success, SC sends payment to M; upon failure, the deposited stake and advance payment are returned to U. The figure illustrates this three-party arrangement involving the miner, the user, and the enforcing DON-backed smart contract.
Significance
Priority channels demonstrate how DONs can create verifiable, enforceable service agreements between miners and users, enabling a market for guaranteed block space. This addresses a critical infrastructure need—ensuring oracle reports and governance transactions reach the chain in a timely and predictable manner—without enabling front-running, since priority channels as designed cannot easily be used for speed-sensitive exploitative purposes.
