public inbox for bitcoindev@googlegroups.com
 help / color / mirror / Atom feed
From: Oliver Egginger <bitcoin@olivere.de>
To: Will Madden <will.madden@bridge21inc.com>
Cc: bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org
Subject: Re: [bitcoin-dev] Core Devs : can you share your thoughts about all BIPs on this website ?
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2015 19:31:27 +0200	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <55D7606F.3050501@olivere.de> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <B9E226E5-D7E7-4DC8-BCA7-64431523F318@bridge21inc.com>

Am 21.08.2015 um 15:34 schrieb Will Madden:
> Keeping the block size at 1mb restricts the number of active users of bitcoin to around 100,000 people transacting twice a day on blockchain.  
> BItcoin is a protocol.  Protocols are successful because of their network effect.  Capping the block size freezes bitcoin’s network effect, limits users and prevents new users from joining (which will cut demand to exchange bitcoin) and also freeze the economic incentive to mine, because it will hurt the price.  

As a protocol Bitcoin could support millions of full nodes. What you
talking about is the number of shareholders. But these are poorly
determined by the block size. The number of shareholders is determined
by many parameter but manly by the decreasing-supply algorithm. Which
"was chosen because it approximates the rate at which commodities like
gold are mined". See: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Controlled_supply

While the decreasing-supply algorithm of Bitcoin has many advantage it's
very hard to believe that the block chain will ever reach mass adoption.
Even after 6 years, hardly anyone owns Bitcoins. Like Gold Bitcoin is
distributed in large blocks to a few. Exceptions prove the rule. In the
last 6 years the 1MB limit has been sufficient. I don't think that we
will hit the 8MB limit in the next 6 years, except for stress tests and
spam.

> Freezing bitcoin’s growth for any meaningful length of time will
> threaten its position as the leading cryptocurrency.

I don't think that a relative tight block size could harm Bitcoin
middle-term. Only experienced users penetrate the block chain directly.
They know what they are doing and deal with problems. When space for
transactions starts to become scarce and the fees rise too much, the
developers have enough time to make a change. It would then also not so
controversial. A matter of a few days or weeks. Especially if all
necessary preparations have already been taken.

But I know that my opinion is very different from other claims. However,
reliable people share some more fatalism as I'm currently find in some
parts of the the Bitcoin community. Fear is a very bad adviser and can
make a genius stupid.

- oliver



  reply	other threads:[~2015-08-21 17:31 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 21+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2015-08-19  4:57 [bitcoin-dev] Core Devs : can you share your thoughts about all BIPs on this website ? Nicolas Dorier
2015-08-21  3:10 ` Btc Drak
2015-08-21  4:45 ` Gregory Maxwell
2015-08-21  5:10   ` Nicolas Dorier
2015-08-21  9:09     ` Btc Drak
2015-08-21  9:32       ` Peter Todd
2015-08-21  9:29   ` Peter Todd
2015-08-21  9:31     ` Btc Drak
2015-08-21  9:35       ` Peter Todd
2015-08-21 10:55         ` Yifu Guo
2015-08-21 11:28           ` Btc Drak
2015-08-21 12:28             ` Yifu Guo
2015-08-21 13:18               ` Oliver Egginger
2015-08-21 13:34                 ` Will Madden
2015-08-21 17:31                   ` Oliver Egginger [this message]
2015-08-21 18:07                     ` Will Madden
2015-08-22  3:02             ` odinn
2015-08-21 16:58         ` Nicolas Dorier
2015-08-21  3:38 Nicolas Dorier
2015-08-21  3:45 ` Eric Lombrozo
2015-08-21  3:54   ` Nicolas Dorier

Reply instructions:

You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:

* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
  and reply-to-all from there: mbox

  Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style

* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
  switches of git-send-email(1):

  git send-email \
    --in-reply-to=55D7606F.3050501@olivere.de \
    --to=bitcoin@olivere.de \
    --cc=bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org \
    --cc=will.madden@bridge21inc.com \
    /path/to/YOUR_REPLY

  https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html

* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
  via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox