Author: Gregory Maxwell 2013-02-13 15:42:07
Published on: 2013-02-13T15:42:07+00:00
In a discussion about Bitcoin's consensus mechanism and the decision-making process for the maximum block size, Raph Frank explains that Bitcoin intentionally uses the consensus mechanism only for the ordering of transactions, which cannot be autonomously and interdependently validated by nodes. As for the maximum block size, there is already a protocol rule implementing a hard maximum, as well as soft rules for lower targets. Any changes to this would require it to be obvious to almost everyone that it should and must be changed. This is because in the long run, blockspace scarcity is necessary to drive non-trivial fees and scaling limits are necessary to keep Bitcoin decentralized and meet its security promises. Changing the maximum block size would be a significant change, not to be made lightly. If it becomes necessary to do so, Frank hopes that the correct path will be obvious to everyone, otherwise there is a grave risk of undermining confidence in the immutability of any of the rules of the system.
Updated on: 2023-05-19T16:30:20.839197+00:00