The Controversial “Scaling Issue” of Bitcoin’s 15-Year Development: Currency or Gold?
The recent debate over the development roadmap of Bitcoin, sparked by the Ming Wen incident, has once again surfaced. Who is right? Whether Bitcoin should serve as a settlement layer or digital gold still remains unanswered, but this question has been accompanying Bitcoin’s 15-year history. This article provides a comprehensive overview of Bitcoin’s scaling data, providing users with insights into the past and present.
Bitcoin’s role as a computational system or digital gold has long been a topic of debate. Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, expressed his inclination towards Bitcoin being digital gold but left room for interpretation. In September 2010, Nakamoto made the decision to impose a 1MB limit on block size, stating that it was a temporary measure and that block size could be gradually increased in the future to accommodate scalability needs.
In December 2010, Nakamoto disappeared from the public eye, leaving the question of Bitcoin’s scalability unresolved. The debate eventually led to a hard fork and the emergence of multiple Bitcoin forks, including Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV).
To address the scalability issue, the Bitcoin community introduced various technical solutions, including Segregated Witness (SegWit) and Taproot. SegWit, introduced as an alternative solution to increase block size, has been widely adopted, reaching over 60% node adoption by 2020 and 95% by December 2023. Taproot, another important upgrade, was activated in November 2021, further enhancing Bitcoin’s scalability and enabling the execution of smart contracts.
In addition to these technical solutions, Bitcoin has also seen the emergence of Layer 2 solutions such as the Lightning Network and sidechains. The Lightning Network, proposed in 2015, allows for off-chain transactions by establishing separate channel protocols within multi-signature addresses. Sidechain solutions, including RSK and Liquid Network, have also been developed to address scalability issues.
The history of Bitcoin’s development has been influenced by the opinions of Satoshi Nakamoto and the community’s inclination towards Bitcoin as digital gold. However, with the disappearance of Nakamoto and the increasing popularity of Bitcoin, the scalability debate has resurfaced and led to significant network congestion. Understanding the historical context will enable participants to think independently and objectively about the future development of the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin’s block space remains a crucial issue for developers, shaping the future of Bitcoin. The recent Ming Wen incident has disrupted the progress of developers and caused severe network congestion, leading to dissatisfaction among some developers. Understanding the history and background will allow for a more informed and thoughtful discussion on the future development of the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin, BTC, SegWit, Taproot, forks, Lightning Network.
References:
– “絕殺 ORDI 等 BRC20? 開發者揚言明年修正比特幣漏洞, 比特幣社群在吵什麼?” (source)
– “比特幣分叉地圖” (source)
– “募了2億美金的Filecoin宣佈10月啟動主網,卻將面臨礦工發起的分叉危機” (source)
– “a16z:加密貨幣創新之處並非商業模式,而是用戶可共享價值” (source)
