Published on: 2017-03-09T15:29:07+00:00
A proposal for a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) has been made to allow users and miners to signal their readiness for changes in block size. The proposal suggests introducing an Excessive Block size (EB) as an absolute upper bound that cannot be overridden by miners. Currently, the EB is set at 1MB but can be configured in a config file as an advanced feature.Users are encouraged to publicly report their EBs, and Core developers can ship a version with a default EB that aligns with both miner and economic majority after a 95% consensus fork. A versioning system ensures that the old and new networks are incompatible.The primary goal of this proposal is to remove political issues from affecting core developers. By allowing users and miners to wrangle over fees without developer involvement, it aims to address the inherent political nature of fees, which can create barriers for low-net-worth individuals transacting using this technology.If a small business in Africa, for example, cannot afford to set up a full node due to high fees, it hampers participation as a hub. Therefore, it is important for major exchanges and users to publicly announce their EBs so that miners can have a more reliable signal to go on.The proposal also addresses the broader concept of scaling, highlighting that it encompasses more than just increasing the block size. It emphasizes the need to consider factors beyond block size when addressing scalability.To implement this system, a soft fork and a versioning system would be necessary to ensure compatibility between the old and new networks. Users who fail to update their EB within the 6-month period will be excluded from the majority fork.Overall, the proposed BIP allows users and miners to signal their readiness for changes in block size, introduces an absolute upper bound for block size, and emphasizes the importance of considering scalability beyond just block size. It aims to remove political issues from core developers' decision-making and encourages major exchanges and users to publicly announce their EBs.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T19:44:56.013806+00:00