A suggested approach to mitigate the harm of slow validation, without immediately resorting to a soft fork, involves nodes validating competing blockchain tips in parallel. This method entails monitoring alternative block headers during the validation of a block. If another header for the same height is received, it would be validated concurrently. The first header to complete validation would then be announced to the network. Even though the slower candidate would still be fully validated and ready for a quick switch if necessary, this strategy marks a slight departure from the current preference for the first seen header. However, its implementation could present challenges.

Furthermore, the strategy's effectiveness depends on regular node operators and mining pools adopting it, as it would increase the chances of an attacker's block becoming stale. This assumes other pools are also attempting to produce a competing block, which occurs naturally unless they engage in Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) mining. For SPV mining pools, a decision-making heuristic might be needed to determine the most profitable course of action based on the anticipated validation times of other pools. However, concerns arise regarding the potential for coordinated responses among pool operators in the event of an attack, especially if anticipated. Such coordination, potentially through direct communication, poses long-term health risks to the network's decentralized nature.