This means fewer nodes and thereby less decentralization. Larger blocks lead to larger blockchains that make it harder to run a node for the average user.Larger blocks initially sound good because more and cheaper transactions sound like a net positive. Small blockers - long term prioritization, system resilience, sustainability, scientific & theoretical. The answers to these questions split the Bitcoin community into two groups:īig blockers - short term prioritization, user experience, growth, business-focused. Should Bitcoin prioritize gaining market share quickly in a start-up fashion or focus on the long-term where you need to think decades ahead to make decisions?.What is the significance to run a node as a normal user?.Should the protocol rules concerning blocksize change easily or be robust and only change if the vast majority wants them to change?.Should blocks be full or consistently have a surplus capacity?.The hardcoded block size limit (1MB) was introduced by Satoshi as a way to keep the blockchain small in its early days.ĭue to the fact that Satoshi Nakamoto never publicly stated why the 1MB block size limit was added, many have speculated this was done as an anti-spam measure, preventing bad actors from spamming the Bitcoin network with artificially large Bitcoin blocks full of bogus transactions.Ībsent a block size limit, a rogue miner could create large blocks filled with micro-transactions, forcing nodes to download, upload, and store large amounts of data, leaving them unavailable to confirm legitimate transactionsĪs the Bitcoin network grew, and blocks started filling up, a few key questions arose in the Bitcoin community. As of today, the network can process approximately 7 transactions per second. The Bitcoin block size limit is a parameter in the Bitcoin protocol that limits the size of Bitcoin blocks, and, consequently, limits the number of transactions that can be confirmed on the network. Let’s head into a bit of an overview before we chronologically walk through the events, the people involved, and the arguments for each side.īlocks are groups of bitcoin transactions which are confirmed and broadcasted to bitcoin’s public ledger, the blockchain. While the big blocker solutions Bitcoin XT, Classic, and Unlimited failed, Bitcoin Cash and SV are still around today.ĭue to the activation of the SegWit soft fork and the overwhelming majority in terms of market share, hash rate and number of network nodes - the small blockers Bitcoin is seen as the winner of the war. The war turned out to be more about control than the actual blocksize. "The Blocksize War: The Battle for Control Over Bitcoin’s Protocol Rules" by Jonathan Bier chronicles many of the perspectives and events during the 2015 - 2017 debate
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