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Sorry if I'm naive but another thing I've always wondered about that is the exponential size of the blockchain. I mean if Bitcoin ever gain real traction isn't

Sorry if I'm naive but another thing I've always wondered about that is the exponential size of the blockchain. I mean if Bitcoin ever gain real traction isn't it pretty inefficient to store all the data and replicate it around? Storage now seem infinite but practicality it is not, won't current blockchain be saturated to the point of uselessness when/if it reach usage level of an actual banking network? "Let think about scaling later" is maybe not a good idea for a currency implementation...

Govindae 9y ago
There's a new block every X minutes. Where's the exponential growth?
- criddell 9y ago
  I think you're being too literal. I'm not the person you replied to but I've also wondered how the unbounded growth is sustainable.
  - thefalcon 9y ago
    Moore's Law/Kryder's Law ... advancement in technology outpaces growth.
    - Twisell 9y ago
      This is exactly the right mindset to build great software that is totally unable to run on modest hardware.
      - stale2002 9y ago
        Only if Moore's law turns out to be false. A hundred years from now, you could store the blockchain on current day hardware. And that is without talking about improvements in technology.
- Twisell 9y ago
  Well as far as I know X already tend to grow since Bitcoin introduction and it's a big point of discord between developers ("should we increase block size" argument as far as I know). Now to be more accurate it might rather be a growth according to a logistic curve. Right now Bitcoin is used only by early adopters, but should Bitcoin usage diffuse among general customers it will growth quasi exponentially before plateauing.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- Twisell 9y ago
  Also found out this graph: https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size?timespan=all https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size?timespan=all This is definitely not linear, and keep it mind it's only with a small amount of early adopter that they reached 125 Go mark. As a matter of comparaison the whole database of the earth map at openstreetmap.org is as of writing only 36 Go fat when delivered in compressed form. https://planet.openstreetmap.org/pbf/ https://planet.openstreetmap.org/pbf/ It seems absolutely ridiculous and a waste of ressource to expect that the blockchain shall never/ever use some rotating process to loose weight at some point. Blockchain like technology can be very usefull, but current implementation look like a very rotten seed. And if a newer version that solve those issue emerge why on earth would they want to give any value to a prototype currency driven by opportunistics "first in" miners? I desperately hope that no public fund was stupid enough to invest any real life saving to this mess because IMHO it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when it will collapse.

Govindae 9y ago

There's a new block every X minutes. Where's the exponential growth?

criddell 9y ago
I think you're being too literal. I'm not the person you replied to but I've also wondered how the unbounded growth is sustainable.
- thefalcon 9y ago
  Moore's Law/Kryder's Law ... advancement in technology outpaces growth.
  - Twisell 9y ago
    This is exactly the right mindset to build great software that is totally unable to run on modest hardware.
    - stale2002 9y ago
      Only if Moore's law turns out to be false. A hundred years from now, you could store the blockchain on current day hardware. And that is without talking about improvements in technology.
Twisell 9y ago
Well as far as I know X already tend to grow since Bitcoin introduction and it's a big point of discord between developers ("should we increase block size" argument as far as I know). Now to be more accurate it might rather be a growth according to a logistic curve. Right now Bitcoin is used only by early adopters, but should Bitcoin usage diffuse among general customers it will growth quasi exponentially before plateauing.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
Twisell 9y ago
Also found out this graph: https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size?timespan=all https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size?timespan=all This is definitely not linear, and keep it mind it's only with a small amount of early adopter that they reached 125 Go mark. As a matter of comparaison the whole database of the earth map at openstreetmap.org is as of writing only 36 Go fat when delivered in compressed form. https://planet.openstreetmap.org/pbf/ https://planet.openstreetmap.org/pbf/ It seems absolutely ridiculous and a waste of ressource to expect that the blockchain shall never/ever use some rotating process to loose weight at some point. Blockchain like technology can be very usefull, but current implementation look like a very rotten seed. And if a newer version that solve those issue emerge why on earth would they want to give any value to a prototype currency driven by opportunistics "first in" miners? I desperately hope that no public fund was stupid enough to invest any real life saving to this mess because IMHO it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when it will collapse.