The post Vitalik Buterin critiques Bitcoin’s block size war, calls for innovation appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has provided a detailed reflection on the Bitcoin block size wars, a significant conflict within the Bitcoin community that spanned from 2015 to 2017. This debate centered on whether to increase Bitcoin’s block size limit from 1 MB to accommodate more transactions, thereby reducing fees and enhancing its utility as a payment system. Buterin, who experienced the block size war firsthand, initially aligned with the “big blockers.” This group advocated for larger blocks to keep transaction fees low, maintaining Bitcoin’s role as digital cash. They argued that Bitcoin’s original vision, as outlined in its whitepaper, was to serve as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Big blockers believed increasing the block size was essential to prevent high fees from undermining this use case. They also referenced Satoshi Nakamoto’s writings, which suggested that larger blocks could be managed through simplified payment verification and hard forks to phase in block size increases. Conversely, the “small blockers” prioritized maintaining Bitcoin’s decentralization and security. They argued that larger blocks would make it more difficult and costly for individuals to run nodes, potentially centralizing control among a few large entities. Small blockers were concerned that frequent and significant changes to the protocol, primarily through hard forks, could undermine Bitcoin’s stability and governance model. They believed that Bitcoin should remain a decentralized store of value, akin to digital gold, rather than focusing on being a payment system. Buterin’s reflections reveal a nuanced understanding of both sides. He acknowledged that while he believed big blockers were right about needing larger blocks to keep fees low, they often lacked the technical competence to implement their solutions effectively. He criticized the big blockers for not agreeing on realistic limits for block size increases and for their technical missteps, such as the poorly executed Bitcoin Classic…

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Filed under: News - @ May 31, 2024 11:14 pm