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Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by Twisell on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @06:31AM (#14899285)
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...

Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by Govindae on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @10:31AM (#14900989)
There's a new block every X minutes. Where's the exponential growth?
Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by Twisell on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @05:56PM (#14905755)
Also found out this graph: 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/

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.

Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by Twisell on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @12:27PM (#14902456)
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.

Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by criddell on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @11:19AM (#14901578)
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.
Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by thefalcon on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @12:53PM (#14902779)
Moore's Law/Kryder's Law ... advancement in technology outpaces growth.
Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by Twisell on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @01:18PM (#14903043)
This is exactly the right mindset to build great software that is totally unable to run on modest hardware.
Re:Hidden surprises in the Bitcoin blockchain and how they a... by stale2002 on Tuesday August 01, 2017 @05:07PM (#14905331)
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.