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Why the Bitcoin Network Just Split In Half and Why It Matters (arstechnica.com)
In a report via Ars Technica, Timothy B. Lee explains why the Bitcoin network split into two and why it matters: On Tuesday, a faction of the Bitcoin community launched an audacious experiment: a new version of Bitcoin called Bitcoin Cash that's incompatible with the standard version. As a result, the Bitcoin network split into two mutually incompatible networks that will operate side-by-side. The confusing result is that if you owned one bitcoin before the split you own two bitcoins now: one coin on the original Bitcoin network, and a second coin on the new Bitcoin Cash network. The two coins have the same cryptographic credentials, but they have very different values if you sell them for old-fashioned dollars. On Wednesday morning, one standard Bitcoin was worth about $2,700, while -- on paper at least -- a unit of Bitcoin Cash was worth around $600. [...]
For over a year, the Bitcoin network has been bumping up against a capacity limit hard-coded into the Bitcoin software. Each block in the Bitcoin blockchain -- the network's public, shared transaction ledger -- is limited to 1 megabyte. That artificial limit prevents the network from processing more than about seven transactions per second. Technically speaking, it would be trivial to change that 1 megabyte limit to a higher value. But proposals to do so have faced opposition from traditionalists who argue the limit is actually an important feature of Bitcoin's design that protects the network's democratic character. To participate in the network's peer-to-peer process for clearing transactions, a computer needs a copy of every transaction ever made on the Bitcoin network, which adds up to gigabytes of data per month. This argument has dragged on for more than two years with no resolution. So instead of continuing to bicker, a group of big-block supporters took matters into their own hands. They forked the standard, open-source Bitcoin client to create a rival version of the software.
For over a year, the Bitcoin network has been bumping up against a capacity limit hard-coded into the Bitcoin software. Each block in the Bitcoin blockchain -- the network's public, shared transaction ledger -- is limited to 1 megabyte. That artificial limit prevents the network from processing more than about seven transactions per second. Technically speaking, it would be trivial to change that 1 megabyte limit to a higher value. But proposals to do so have faced opposition from traditionalists who argue the limit is actually an important feature of Bitcoin's design that protects the network's democratic character. To participate in the network's peer-to-peer process for clearing transactions, a computer needs a copy of every transaction ever made on the Bitcoin network, which adds up to gigabytes of data per month. This argument has dragged on for more than two years with no resolution. So instead of continuing to bicker, a group of big-block supporters took matters into their own hands. They forked the standard, open-source Bitcoin client to create a rival version of the software.
Actually, it does not matter. Bitcoin Cash is redundant. They may be correct as to the technical merits of why a change is needed regarding maximum block size but their fork is unnecessary. Ordinary Bitcoin may adopt a larger block size or some other remedy at any time in the future. The argument is only over whether something needs to be done today. Well that and internal developer politics.
Regular Bitcoin is not locked into some doomed course. They can make a block size change on the timeframe they think appropriate; or if Bitcoin Cash does enjoy increasing popularity they can make the change to put an end to the defections to the other side. Either way Bitcoin Cash seems doomed. Although I'm sure some speculators will find a way to make money off the hype.
Some people, like the owner of this address https://bitinfocharts.com/bitc... got $43million richer overnight, if they could cash out all of their bitcoin cash holdings right now.
FTFY
Exactly to destroy it.
"Storage isn't getting larger/cheaper at that rate any more. Sounds like someone needs to fix the "you need the entire history of the world's financial transactions" problem next."
Won't happen, can't happen. Idiots still haven't learned the problems experienced in the 70s regarding permissionless distributed databases. Rather, people aren't teaching them because they (foolishly) ignored mathematical proofs, then actual demonstration.
It simply cannot scale with technology and human transactions.
And it's repeating that history as evidenced by this fork (which STILL isn't good enough, the short-sighted idiots.)
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
To mine you only need to hash the latest block, so long as you can trust other people to verify the transactions you are hashing.
To verify new transactions, you only need to keep the set of unspent transactions around, and you could partition that easily enough.
And you could depend on other people to hold all that data for you. There's no real advantage to everyone storing the whole block chain forever, so long as enough people have a backup copy somewhere.
09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
If they were to "cash out" all their bitcoin holdings the price would plummet before selling even more than 1000 btc. Try to cash out and see what happens in a market with no volume.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.