Published on: 2017-01-10T19:09:42+00:00
Recently, there has been a discussion on the bitcoin-discuss mailing list regarding the concept of an adaptive or automatic block size. Ryan J Martin expressed concerns about this approach, stating that it may not consider the optimal economic equilibrium for transaction fees and size. He highlighted the potential negative impact on miners and users if an auto-adjusting size limit is implemented without solid code and a social benefit model in place.In response to this discussion, t.k. proposed a BIP called Block75, which aims to maintain blocks at 75% full. They used the daily average block size over the past year to estimate how Block75 would have altered the maximum block sizes. According to their estimates, if Block75 were activated today, the max block size one year from now would be 2,064KB. However, they acknowledged that this is only an estimate and welcomed alternative ways to model future behavior through the Block75 algorithm.Concerns have been raised that an auto-adjusting size limit could create unforeseen externalities for miners and users. Miners might decide to mine very small blocks to constrict supply and increase marginal fees, while users could push blocks to larger sizes, resulting in higher latency and network issues. To address these concerns, an auto-adjusting limit would require solid code with a social benefit model built-in. This model would aim to adjust to an equilibrium that maximizes benefits and minimizes costs for both miners and users, using a Marshallian surplus model.Meanwhile, the Block75 proposal suggests adjusting the maximum block size based on the average percentage fullness of the last 2016 blocks. This approach aims to keep blocks as small as possible, allow for growth, and maintain transaction fees at a level similar to May/June 2016. The proposal takes into account the substantial increase in transactions expected in the last quarter of 2017 and the changes brought about by SegWit. However, it is important to note that the max block size projections provided by Block75 are estimates, and alternative ways to model future behavior are encouraged to be tested through the Block75 algorithm.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T19:24:49.071312+00:00