{"id":15286,"date":"2017-11-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-11T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2019.dash.org\/2017\/11\/12\/as-bitcoin-rejects-2mb-blocks-dash-prepares-to-implement-them\/"},"modified":"2021-09-18T11:39:04","modified_gmt":"2021-09-18T11:39:04","slug":"bitcoinrejects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.dash.org\/news\/bitcoinrejects\/","title":{"rendered":"As Bitcoin Rejects 2MB Blocks, Dash Prepares to Implement Them"},"content":{"rendered":"
In early 2016, the\u00a0masternodes<\/a>\u00a0that comprise\u00a0Dash\u2019s governance system<\/a>\u00a0voted overwhelmingly\u00a0to upgrade to 2MB blocks<\/a>, with 99 percent of the network in favor. Many in the cryptocurrency world saw this as a simple attention-getting gimmick, as Dash\u2019s development priorities became focused elsewhere. However, with the recent release of Dash version 12.2, it looks like larger blocks will be implemented soon.<\/p>\n The version 12.2 upgrade is one step on the way to\u00a0Dash Evolution<\/a>, the currency\u2019s plan\u00a0to make<\/a>\u00a0\u201ddigital [currencies] be so easy to use your Grandma would use them.\u201d Core developer UdjinM6\u00a0wrote of the recent update<\/a>:<\/p>\n The most notable changes are:<\/p>\n Of course, larger blocks aren\u2019t needed yet, as the currency does not process enough transactions to fill its current blocks. However, this blocksize increase follows the on-chain scaling plan announced by founder Evan Duffield earlier this year.\u00a0Duffield announced<\/a>\u00a0that through the use of custom hardware, Dash will create a network that can scale to large numbers of transactions by using big blocks.<\/p>\n Duffield wrote:<\/p>\n Many projects in the space believe that on-chain scaling is impossible. That\u2019s simply because they haven\u2019t explored alternative P2P architectures for higher performance. We intend to show just how far an incentivized second tier [masternode] architecture can take a project like Dash.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bitcoin, of course, has chosen to follow a different path. With the planned SegWit2x upgrade\u00a0officially dead<\/a>, the currency is now firmly on the path of off-chain scaling through the lightning network or similar solutions. The\u00a0lightning network<\/a>\u00a0is intended to work by moving transactions off-chain onto \u201cpayment channels\u201d and then \u201csettling\u201d the result to the Bitcoin Blockchain periodically.<\/p>\n For instance, if Bob pays Alice one BTC, then he later pays her two BTC, and finally sends her 1.5 BTC, that\u2019s three separate transactions that need to be recorded to the Blockchain. With lightning network, however, only the net transaction would need to be posted to the Blockchain once the payment channel was closed. In this case, only one transaction would be posted for a total of 4.5 BTC sent from Bob to Alice.<\/p>\n Critics have asked how often payment channels will really be used, but until the network is deployed, it\u2019s impossible to say. Others suggest that moving transactions off-chain\u00a0damages the decentralized and immutable nature<\/a>\u00a0of Bitcoin. Supporters point out that transactions happen off-chain all the time, for instance on exchanges. No Bitcoin exchange posts a separate transaction to the Blockchain every time funds are moved internally. Only the final result is posted, once a user withdraws funds.<\/p>\n Number two cryptocurrency Ethereum isn\u2019t just sitting on the sidelines, either. The currency plans to implement the \u201cRaiden Network<\/a>\u201d which will utilize payment channels similar to Bitcoin\u2019s proposed lightning network.<\/p>\n While Bitcoin assiduously avoids hard forks whenever possible, Dash welcomes them. The key to\u00a0Dash\u2019s upgrade strategy is the \u201cspork\u201d<\/a>\u00a0a mechanism that allows portions of the upgrade to be \u201cturned off\u201d if there is a problem on the network. An example is something called \u201cenforcement.\u201d The Dash network normally requires miners to share the block reward with masternodes; miners who attempt to keep the entire reward to themselves will find their blocks rejected by the network.<\/p>\n However, during an upgrade, enforcement can (and usually is) be turned off. This allows both miners and masternodes a reasonable amount of time to upgrade their software while eliminating the risk of uncontrollable forking caused by one part of the network rejecting the other part.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen whether Bitcoin, Ethereum or Dash will be successful in solving the scalability problem. Both the \u201cpayment channels\u201d and \u201creally big blocks\u201d scaling methods have their critics, and neither has been thoroughly vetted yet. It\u2019s possible that another solution might emerge in the interim, or that both solutions could be workable.<\/p>\n The one thing that\u2019s certain, however, is that for digital currency to become a real force in the world, tens of thousands of people will need to be able to transact all at the same time. A successful mainstream cryptocurrency must be able to\u00a0scale to Visa\u2019s level<\/a>\u00a0or beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In early 2016, the\u00a0masternodes<\/a>\u00a0that comprise\u00a0Dash\u2019s governance system<\/a>\u00a0voted overwhelmingly\u00a0to upgrade to 2MB blocks<\/a>, with 99 percent of the network in favor. Many in the cryptocurrency world saw this as a simple attention-getting gimmick, as Dash\u2019s development priorities became focused elsewhere. However, with the recent release of Dash version 12.2, it looks like larger blocks will be implemented soon.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[216],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Not needed yet<\/h2>\n
Bitcoin\u2019s path\u2026and Ethereum\u2019s too<\/h2>\n
Forks welcome<\/h2>\n
Best path uncertain<\/h2>\n