Empty ETH Blocks

I noticed on my local node a bunch of empty blocks are being published. Posted in Watercooler, but topic really belongs here.

Continuing the discussion from ETH Blocks with no TXNs:

Well, I think I found my answer. Basically what I gathered is that an empty block is easier to propagate throughout the network. In short, if two miners solve a block around the same time, the block with the least gas consumption will execute faster.

While it is true that a miner will earn more rewards via transaction fees, the occurrence of uncles happens far more often than a chain like BTC experiences forks due to simultaneous blocks; and to ensure the miner doesn’t receive uncle rewards in lieu of block rewards, sometimes these blocks will publish without txns.

Feel free to correct anything I may be missing or if I misunderstand…

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