![]() ![]() I hope that the developers of Bitcoin Unlimited can remove BIP109 as a default setting from their client software and avoid any future misunderstandings.įrom the moment ViaBTC mined our first Bitcoin Unlimited block there has been an overwhelmingly large reaction from within the bitcoin community: most have been supportive but there has also been controversy and plenty of conjecture. I also intentionally disabled Bitcoin Unlimited’s default signalling for BIP109 because we do not believe that BIP109 is the correct solution towards changing the block size. ![]() However, the switch to Bitcoin Unlimited is good for the long term health of the network, since it brings finality and eliminates any future need to use either soft or hard forks to alter the block size. The initial change to support larger blocks will require a hard fork. Based on tests we have run, we know that the network is entirely capable of handling 2MB blocks with no noticeable performance decrease, which is to say that the fears about an increase to 2MB blocks can be put to rest. It is my belief that the decision of which software to run is the responsibility of the mining pools and that waiting for the miners or the bitcoin developers to decide the course of action for the network is incorrect.Ĭurrently, ViaBTC is signalling a vote for 2MB blocks in the coinbase of the blocks we mine, although we will continue to produce blocks with a maximum size of 1MB so as to follow what is currently accepted by Nakamoto consensus to be the rules of the bitcoin network. As we are seeing now, and have seen in the past, it turns out that the miners (that is, those who own the hardware) do not actually care enough one way or another to cast a vote about making changes to the bitcoin protocol. The decision of whether or not to increase the block size beyond 1MB is ultimately made by the miners, but in the specific case of this issue, it is actually the pool owners, not the hardware operators, who have the experience required to make such a decision. But, after consulting with all of the larger users on my pool I was able to make this decision with their overwhelming support. This decision was not made lightly I do not believe I have the right to impose my own personal views on the users of my pool. On October 10th, 2016, right after the conclusion of Scaling Bitcoin Milan (the third in a series of conferences on the topic of scaling the Bitcoin network), I made the decision to switch the bitcoin client software that ViaBTC runs from Bitcoin Core to Bitcoin Unlimited. This article was originally published in Chinese on my personal blog. Why We Must Increase the Block Size and Why I Support Bitcoin Unlimited
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