Blocksize, Bitcoin Unlimited, ASICBoost and Activating SegWit

Thomas Voegtlin

Years into the great Bitcoin scaling debate no solution is in reach. Neither bigger blocks nor Segregated Witness have anywhere near consensus support. With the conflict escalating, a Bitcoin fork has become a real possibility.

Electrum Developer Thomas Voegtlin joined us to discuss the state of the Bitcoin scaling debate. We discussed Bitcoin Unlimited, ASICBoost, SegWit activation without miner support and how a Bitcoin fork could play out. Possible outcomes include that Bitcoin Unlimited gains a majority of hashing power and starts mining bigger blocks. In the event of a fork, a proof-of-work change could be done to defend the minority chain from miner attacks. And lately a proposal was brought forward to activate SegWit without the support of the hashing power.

Topics:

ASICBoost and its potential role in the conflict
How a Bitcoin fork could happen
How to split coins in case of a fork
How UASF could be used to activate SegWit without miner support
Requirements for UASF to be safe
How Electrum would handle a fork

Links:

Sebastien Couture, Brian Crain