F2Pool , the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool, maintains that changing its code to allow bigger blocks through BIP 101 or Bitcoin XT is not an option.
Wang Chun, the operator of the China-based pool controlling some 20 percent of hashing power , dismissed the idea of an exponential growth rate of the maximum block size for 20 years leading to 8-gigabyte blocks.
Asked by Bitcoin Magazine , Chun said: “We cannot predict what will happen years into the future, and we think a first step to 2 megabytes should be enough for now.”
The block-size dispute – which represents a tradeoff between the number of transactions the Bitcoin network can handle and its decentralization – might reach a critical juncture over the next weeks. A large segment of Bitcoin’s development community will discuss the issue at the upcoming Scaling Bitcoin workshop in Hong Kong in the first week of December, while several prominent Bitcoin companies have stated they intend to change their code to allow for bigger blocks that same month.
Chun, too, believes that raising the block-size limit is an urgent matter, explaining:
“I think it is urgent, because the transaction volume is increasing on the blockchain, and if the price rises in near future, it will push the transaction volume to be even higher. I think the max block size should be raised as soon as possible, but it should not be raised too much. Two megabytes is preferred as the first step.”
One possible solution, BIP 101 , is programmed to increase the maximum block size to 8 megabytes if a threshold of 75 percent of mining power accepts the change. Once activated, this limit is set to double every two years for 20 years, ultimately leading to an 8-gigabyte block-size limit.
This patch, which is designed by former Bitcoin Core lead […]
