Author: Benjamin 2015-06-14 10:34:01
Published on: 2015-06-14T10:34:01+00:00
The block size limit in Bitcoin is a crucial economic policy lever that needs to be transitioned from software developers to the free market. The size limit defines the fee market, and changing it can have a direct impact on business models and user adoption. While there is a consensus that the limit needs to increase, proposals so far haven't addressed how to re-design this fundamental part of Bitcoin. It's not just a technical or engineering decision, but a question of what the price of the scarce resource of the blockchain will be and how to decide on it once the subsidy runs out. A simple hard fork won't fix higher level governance problems associated with actors lobbying developers, even if a cloistered and vetted Technical Advisory Board is proposed. There is a need for a voting system for metaconsensus, but the problem needs to be looked at more generally. False choices won't help. BIP100 has direct economic consequences and particularly for miners. It lends itself to much greater corruptibility. But what is the alternative? Have a Chief Scientist or Technical Advisory Board choose what is a proper fee, what is a proper level of decentralization, a proper growth factor?
Updated on: 2023-06-09T22:58:06.852725+00:00