Author: Adam Back 2015-08-11 20:12:43
Published on: 2015-08-11T20:12:43+00:00
Bitcoin developers are currently discussing the scalability of the cryptocurrency. While there are tradeoffs between cost and security with blockchains, security is a central concern. To improve efficiency and encourage off-chain transactions, protocols such as Lightning are being developed. While mid-term tradeoffs may exist, long-term tradeoffs that weaken security for throughput or other considerations should be built on top of Bitcoin. The debate around block size continues, with some suggesting bigger blocks to accommodate more users while others argue for reasonable tradeoffs to avoid weakening network security.The author of another post argues that Bitcoin offers policy neutrality, something unique in payment ledgers. If a decision is made that destroys this property, such as making it possible to censor Bitcoin or pressure miners into changing rules contrary to user interests, then Bitcoin is no longer interesting. The author suggests playing to the strengths of Bitcoin instead of competing with Visa/Mastercard and warns that if Bitcoin loses its capability to go underground in the face of censorship, it will be pressured into regulation eventually.The author also responds to assertions made by others on the mailing list, suggesting that storage is not an issue and that assumptions about bandwidth availability may not hold up in the face of active censorship. Finally, the author recommends those who do not agree with Bitcoin's current direction work on alternative architectures like Stellar instead. Despite these debates and concerns, the future of Bitcoin is not bleak, and there is still lots of scope for technological improvement.
Updated on: 2023-06-10T18:29:12.439925+00:00