In this post, we’ll unpack all you need to know about block size wars, defining exactly what they are, the advantages and disadvantages of each and more.
What Are The Block Size Wars?
The Block Size Wars is a term used to describe the debate within the Bitcoin community over the appropriate size of blocks within the blockchain, Bitcoin’s underlying technology.
Advantages & Disadvantages
There are no such things as solutions, there are only trade-offs. Thus, there are advantages and disadvantages to larger blocks and smaller blocks which we will outline below.
The advantages of larger blocks are firstly, higher scalability. Secondly, higher transaction throughput. Lastly, reduced transaction fees due to less competition for block space.
The disadvantages of larger blocks are firstly, increased centralization as less users can afford to run full nodes and process blocks due to higher storage, bandwidth and processing requirements. Secondly, decreased participation and decreased network security.
The advantages of smaller blocks are firstly, decreased centralization as more users can afford to run full nodes and process blocks due to lower storage, bandwidth and processing requirements. Secondly, increased participation and decreased network security.
The disadvantages of smaller blocks are firstly, lower transaction throughput. Secondly, increased transaction fees due to more competition for block space.
Advantages & Disadvantages Of Small & Big Blocks Table Summary
| Small Blocks | Big Blocks | |
| Scalability | Decreased | Increased |
| Centralisation | Decreased | Increased |
| Storage | Decreased | Increased |
| Throughput | Decreased | Increased |
| Fees | Increased | Decreased |
| Security | Increased | Decreased |
Summary (TL;DR)
Block Size Wars is a term used to describe an ongoing debate about the size of Bitcoin’s blockchain blocks. Some people believe bigger blocks are better. Other people people smaller blocks are better.
The advantages of having bigger blocks include increased scalability, increased storage, increased throughput and decreased fees. The disadvantages of having bigger blocks are increased centralisation and decreased security.
The advantages of having smaller blocks include decreased centralisation and increased security. The disadvantages of having bigger blocks are decreased scalability, decreased storage, decreased throughput and increased fees.
Since bigger and smaller blocks both come with trad-offs, there is no right or wrong answer as to how what size the blocks should be.
