Technology Expert Asserts that Bitcoin's Long-Term Viability Is Threatened by Block Size Limits
Bitcoin is "fast approaching a critical technical challenge that will fundamentally shape the course of its future" stated Andrea Castillo, Mercatus Technology Policy Program Manager.
In an article published by reason.com, Ms. Castillo discusses how an "arbitrary protocol quirk" implemented as a short-term security measure could "potentially undermine Bitcoin's scalability, usability, and even its long-term viability." According to Ms. Castillo, the "final outcome of this Bitcoin block size limit debate will affect how easy it will be to use Bitcoin for common everyday transactions and complex experimental transfers alike."
Ms. Castillo contends that a "rule prohibiting blocks exceeding one megabyte in size from being added to the blockchain could strain Bitcoin's potential as a global payment system." In her view, the current rule imposes a theoretical cap on the total number of possible Bitcoin transaction per unit of time "and could make it harder to compete against entrenched payment systems like Visa and PayPal that can manage millions of daily transactions with ease." Additionally, Ms. Castillo notes that if a higher block size limit isn't gradually phased in, demand will continue to exceed supply, and the price per transaction will increase for Bitcoin users. On the other hand, Ms. Castillo also cites various concerns about raising the Bitcoin block size limit. For example, Ms. Castillo mentions that "some of the most Bitcoin-literate developers fear that unlimited block sizes could harm network decentralization and security."
Ms. Castillo believes that "the stakes for Bitcoin are clearly high," and that "once mainly technological questions of scaling and centralization will now translate more obviously to social questions of access and inequality with each passing year."
See: "Bitcoin's Long-Term Viability Threatened by Block Size Limits," by Andrea Castillo.
Related news: Mercatus Scholar Asserts That CISA Threatens Privacy and Security (May 13, 2015); Mercatus Scholars Assert That Federal Agencies Failed Their 2014 Cyber Report Card (April 30, 2015).