Author: Peter Todd 2015-07-27 12:08:29
Published on: 2015-07-27T12:08:29+00:00
In a recent message to the bitcoin-dev mailing list, Pieter Wuille shared his opinion on the relationship between Bitcoin Core and the consensus rules of Bitcoin. He stated that it is the responsibility of the maintainers/developers of Bitcoin Core to create software which helps guarantee the security and operation of the Bitcoin network, including the implementation of DoS protection mechanisms, as well as participating in discussions about consensus changes without taking a leading role in pushing dramatic changes. Wuille also noted that the Bitcoin Core dev team does have a lot of influence due to their strong track record of making good decisions with very few mistakes, leading to a meta-consensus of "Just run Bitcoin Core." However, he emphasized that if Bitcoin requires central control over its rules by a group of developers, it is completely uninteresting to him. Wuille also commented on the ongoing debate regarding block size limits, stating that he believes a fee market should develop rather sooner than later and that "kicking the can down the road" is an incredibly dangerous precedent. He added that change is inevitable and that the intent of the block size limit should be growing with the evolution of technology, not due to a panic reaction because of a fear of change. Furthermore, Wuille suggested that those promoting the idea of a "one-time-only" block size increase should get the stakeholders affected to publicly explain their plans with regard to scalability in the long run. He noted that there's no guarantee that the technology limiting the block size will improve as fast as desired and that bandwidth is limited by politics far more than it is by technology. Finally, Wuille expressed his belief that it would be useful for research to be done on how to better manage social issues related to Bitcoin development in the long term.
Updated on: 2023-06-10T03:09:30.826956+00:00