Published on: 2015-08-31T18:50:25+00:00
In August 2015, discussions and proposals were made regarding the block size increase in Bitcoin. Mark Friedenbach opposed giving miners the power to decide on the consensus rule for limiting mining centralization. Chris Pacia raised concerns about a collective action problem that could arise in the block size increase proposal. Btc Drak discussed a proposal for increasing the block size limit, and Matt Whitlock raised concerns about the activation mechanism of the new consensus rule.The proposal by Btc Drak aimed to address the challenges of raising the block size limit in response to increased popularity. It suggested a hard cap on block size with the ability for miners to increase or decrease it within defined parameters. The proposal also introduced the concept of paying extra difficulty to create larger blocks and calculating the average or median of the last blocks to set the new maximum block size limit. The discussion highlighted the challenges of aligning individual miner interests with the collective interest of the Bitcoin community.Another proposal discussed in the email thread suggested a cost-based approach to increasing the block size. It started with a 1-MB limit and allowed miners to vote for a maximum 10% increase or decrease in the block size limit. The proposal required a mechanism for activation of the new consensus rule.The Consensus based block size retargeting algorithm was proposed as a democratic approach to adjusting the block size limit. It aimed to prevent easy manipulation and ensure changes are made only when necessary. Miners can vote for a block size increase, and the validity of the vote is determined by meeting a difficulty target proportional to the percentage increase voted for. The maximum allowed block size is recalculated every 2016 blocks based on the average of all votes in the last 2016 blocks. The proposal addresses concerns about predetermined block size increases and the need for Bitcoin to be able to respond quickly to raising the block size limit.Overall, these discussions and proposals were focused on addressing mining centralization concerns, ensuring the sustainability and security of the Bitcoin network, and providing a democratic approach to adjusting the block size limit.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T15:38:57.010447+00:00