Author: Ross Nicoll 2015-06-18 23:16:46
Published on: 2015-06-18T23:16:46+00:00
Bitcoin's current transaction throughput of 7 transactions per second is incredibly low even for a clearance network, as pointed out by Ross in an email to the Bitcoin development mailing list. As an example, the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) handled about 3.5 transactions per second on average in 2014, despite being a US-only, inter-bank only clearance network. Ross notes that if Bitcoin is to scale globally, it needs substantially more transaction throughput, even if main chain transactions become something for banks and the super rich. While he believes that 8MB may not be enough, he emphasizes the need for planning ahead while it's still relatively easy to make changes. Mark Friedenbach suggests alternative solutions such as developing cross-platform libraries for managing micropayment channels, using fidelity bonds and solvency proofs, and deploying soft-fork changes for truly scalable solutions like Lightning Network. Not raising the block size limit does not mean doing nothing to solve the problem.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T23:25:00.584460+00:00