Published on: 2015-08-17T23:57:52+00:00
On August 17, 2015, Ahmed Zsales proposed a long-term solution to replace mining rewards and transaction fees in the Bitcoin community. The proposal, titled BIP [104], was initially a discussion draft. However, Btc Drak pointed out that individuals cannot assign BIP numbers and must follow the format of "BIP-myproposal." Ahmed Zsales updated the proposal accordingly and removed the reference to self-ascribed numbers.Privacy issues were also addressed in the proposal, as confirmed by Angel Leon. Peter Todd made a public remark on Twitter about the proposal, adding the term "data mining" to its title. Despite the potentially disparaging tone, Ahmed Zsales thanked Peter Todd for his contribution. Interestingly, Peter Todd's tweet was posted on Twitter itself, a platform known for aggregating and selling data to data miners. Twitter has generated significant revenue from this practice, earning $48 million from data sales in 2014 with a 95% year-on-year growth rate. In fact, Twitter has invested $130 million in acquiring a data mining business to further expand this profitable aspect of their operations.The communication thread on the bitcoin-dev mailing list revolves around Ahmed Zsales' proposal for a long-term solution to replace mining rewards and transaction fees. The provided link leads to the discussion draft of BIP [104], which is open for feedback. Btc Drak highlights the importance of adhering to the correct format for assigning BIP numbers, while Angel Leon confirms that privacy concerns have been addressed in the proposal.The conversation then delves into the idea of adding more data to Bitcoin transactions to fill blocks faster. However, one participant expresses skepticism, arguing that this approach forces users to choose between paying transaction fees or including transaction-related data. They contend that this would compromise user privacy, a fundamental reason why people use Bitcoin. Additionally, they argue that since the data would be stored on the blockchain, there would be no need for users to pay miners for it.Another point of contention raised by the participant is the proposed change from the MIT license to a different one. They believe such a change would be unrealistic and incompatible with the Bitcoin ecosystem. Instead, they suggest that this proposal may find more acceptance in a different cryptocurrency community where users are more open to substantial changes. Furthermore, they caution that deviating from the MIT license could lead to conflicts that would render Bitcoin unusable for many organizations.The discussion initiates with a query regarding self-assigning bip numbers, which relates to the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal system. The email thread also mentions that the big data analysis market was valued at $125 billion in 2015 by IDC. As the Bitcoin blockchain continues to replace existing payment systems and attract millions or even hundreds of millions of users, the value of the data within the blockchain increases. This makes it attractive to data analytics businesses and blockchain start-ups. However, concerns arise that this proposal might transform Bitcoin into the most Orwellian form of money, contradicting initiatives like CoinJoin. Ultimately, the speaker doubts that the Bitcoin community will embrace this idea.The conversation further explores the proposal for a long-term solution to replace mining rewards and transaction fees, referred to as BIP [104]. The draft is still in the discussion phase. There is a discussion about whether increasing block sizes would allow for more transactions per block, consequently collecting more fees and distributing costs among a larger user base, thus keeping transaction fees low. However, some express concern that increasing block sizes might hinder those without access to cheap or free power from supplementing mining revenue through transaction fees. Moreover, larger block sizes may become necessary to compensate for halved coinbase rewards. Overall, the proposal and the concerns surrounding block size contribute to ongoing discussions about the future economic model of Bitcoin.In summary, Ahmed Zsales proposed a long-term solution to replace mining rewards and transaction fees in the Bitcoin community. The proposal, known as BIP [104], was initially a discussion draft. Feedback on the proposal is encouraged, and the discussion thread provides various perspectives on the feasibility and implications of the proposed changes.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T15:27:24.377300+00:00