







So how do we do it?




000 = not voting
001 = vote no change
011 = vote decrease 2%








Why I’m massively in favour of a hard fork block size increase, and also massively against one

I made some reddit posts that recently have been interpreted as my being in favour of small blocks and not raising the block size limit.

This is not my position at all. I’m making the important case that Bitcoin cannot rely on on-chain scaling alone. Satoshi mentioned Moore’s law in the white paper. These were very compelling comments, and for my first few years following Bitcoin it seemed reasonable that Bitcoin could scale on-chain indefinitely.

Unfortunately global propagation is harder than it first seemed when blocks were tiny, and on-chain scaling is not as viable as first thought. Moore’s law alone is not our scaling saviour.

That said I’m not opposed to a hard forks to increase the block size – I think they are necessary. My concern is at hard forks being seen as an easy solution to scaling.

If I seem like more of a small blocker than I am it’s because I’m trying in my mind to balance out the community by pushing the small block cause. I want people to realise that on chain scaling has real implications and is not a long term solution.

I’m incredibly sympathetic to the arguement that we need Bitcoin to be attractive, and low transactional fees are something that first attracted me to Bitcoin. However we’ve also got to be careful of precedent.

The block size debate is more than technical – it is about the politics and future direction of bitcoin.

If we head in the wrong direction and become dependent upon bigger and bigger blocks, there is a genuine risk we embark on a slippery slope and slowly erode what makes Bitcoin special.

I’m not convinced anyone is using Bitcoin at the moment to buy coffee. I’m also sympathetic that we want to make Bitcoin accessible and that lower fees helps the poorest participate, but we need to be cautious.

Bitcoin’s decentralised nature is our democracy, and good democracy requires checks and balances. It might not feel like it at times, but the passionate debate and resistance over changing the status quo is giving us exactly that.

No matter what you think of your opponents, we’re all playing an important role in Bitcoin’s governance. There has never before been anything like it. Fierce debate over monetary policy has taken place behind closed doors throughout most of history, now we all get our say.

I am not opposed to a block size increase, I am opposed to a block size increase being easy. Not because I think bigger blocks will ruin Bitcoin, but because I think lots of block size increases would ruin Bitcoin.

We need to put up a fight against anything that could change what Bitcoin currently is. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ever change Bitcoin, but that such changes should have stood up to immense scrutiny.

You might be massively in favour of increasing the block size, but you should also be thankful in the face of resistance. If Bitcoin ever becomes easy to change it becomes easy to break.

That’s why I’m simultaneously opposed to a block size increase while also being in favour of one.

Yes I’m a paradox, but I’m quite happy that way.

Bitcoin is under siege! We need to fight against post-Truth propaganda, and a plan B to reclaim Bitcoin if taken

We now have a completely divided community where people believe nonsense. A sizable minority have now been convinced that SegWit is dangerous and creates an insurmountable technical debt. These people generally have no development experience, and just blindly repeat misinformation despite the protests of those who do. The vitriol they have been fed is a contagion that is spreading, while others just want to block SegWit out of spite.

I recently tried to compile a list of developers who were opposed to SegWit. The exhaustive list consisted of four. That’s right… four. From the stink kicked up by the anti-SegWit brigade you’d think this number would be far higher.

If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. There is a real risk that enough of the non-technical community now believes SegWit is too complicated and risky to prevent its activation. For the technical community this is a total non-debate, actual developers opposed to SegWit are the flat earth society of Bitcoin. Disagree with this? Try to list developer names and credentials opposing SegWit and you’ll soon realise how feeble the technical opposition is.

In addition to SegWit hate, the vitriol directed at Blockstream is absurd. Bitcoin is and always will be open source, and Blockstream’s business model depends entirely on the success of an open and decentralised Bitcoin. All the big names there have a proven track record of dedicating themselves to Bitcoin’s advancement. Their business model is to profit from their expertise, gained by valuable contributions to Bitcoin’s development. This is a sound and reasonable business model that has been successful on many other open source projects such as MySQL. The profit they make can be used to further advance Bitcoin – it is a win, win.

People literally believe that Blockstream is Evil Corp. I’ve seen people argue that Blockstream profits from keeping blocks small so they can charge for the lightning network. This demonstrates a shocking lack of comprehension and common sense. There are even conspiracy theories that Blockstream is a secret banking trojan horse to bring down Bitcoin from the inside. People peddling such misinformed nonsense need their heads inspecting.

Five years ago in response to scaling concerns, I used to argue that Bitcoin could scale infinitely on-chain, often citing Moore’s law. The more I learned about Bitcoin, the more I realised this isn’t viable without risking Bitcoin’s fundamental value proposition – decentralisation.

I have not been “brainwashed by Blockstream lies”, I have simply joined the consensus of those with a more informed technical understanding. With off-chain scaling we can have our decentralised, inexpensive and instant digital money cake, and eat it too. Sadly, we now live in a post truth world, and having the better argument is often trumped by those shouting the loudest.

Valid concerns can be raised about user experience, missed opportunities, and yes, Lightning Network and Sidechains aren’t ready yet and we do need solutions now. Well, guess what, we have a solution right now: SegWit will immediately ease the stress on the network, it is coded, extensively tested and ready to launch… and there is even consensus for a hard fork block size increase after its activation.

The only thing that will prevent SegWit from activating is misinformation combined with a political power grab by opportunistic miners.

There is now a movement, in the form of Bitcoin Unlimited, to hand over control of the blocksize to miners. There are many reasons why Bitcoin Unlimited is a terrible answer to the block size debate. Sadly, much of this discussion takes place in the bitcoin-dev mailing list where the brightest technical minds hang out, while the rest of the community indulges in misinformed squabbles on reddit. In short, handing over control of the block size to miners would be terribly centralising.

People arguing that the community wants a block size increase are right. I’m all for a block size increase too, however it is vitally important for the health of Bitcoin that the best technical solutions win and we do not concede to misinformation and fear. SegWit MUST be activated before a hard fork block size increase.

If the propaganda succeeds in persuading miners to fritter control of Bitcoin’s block size limits away to an implementation as poorly conceived as Bitcoin Unlimited, then that chain and those who created it must be punished by the market.

To do this, I propose Bitcoin 4Core, a hard fork response that would clearly support the scaling vision of Bitcoin Core, and hopefully recruit their talented development team.

I believe the best way to protect the network from attack and simultaneously improve decentralisation would be to introduce additional proofs of work. 4 proofs of work each with 40 minute block creation targets and respective difficulties. We could add Ethash, Scrypt and Equihash to give a mix of CPU and memory intensive methods, and improve diversity of hardware. We could also take the opportunity to introduce a 4MB maximum block size.

By using proof of work methods with existing altcoin implementations, the mining ecosystems already exist, though some altcoins would likely face severe disruption as miners fled to profit from Bitcoin. Existing Bitcoin miners also wouldn’t be shut out completely as with a change of PoW, and could reluctantly return with diminished income and influence when they a realise that the economic majority will overwhelmingly follow the technical majority when given a choice.

I don’t know if the Core developers would support a proposal like this, but I personally think it would be a great way to reclaim Bitcoin and give a clear mandate to the sound vision of the Core development team. This, however, should be a last resort, and I remain optimistic that SegWit can still activate despite all the noise.

People who argue that introducing SegWit as a soft fork is “too complicated” are concern trolling

Back in February I wrote a piece on then big block flavour of the month, Bitcoin Classic.

I was frustrated that the approach of rival implementations to Bitcoin Core was basically to lift most of the work of the core development team, make a few simple tweaks, and then try and push their implementation as the saviour of Bitcoin.

So I laid down a gauntlet, instead of being a cheap cover band, actually write some code that showcases your abilities and proves your worth. Do that, and a rival implementation could earn the respect and credibility essential to advance their agenda.

Segregated Witness (SegWit) is a clever way to almost double Bitcoin’s capacity without increasing the block size, while also solving other problems such as transaction malleability. It was widely agreed that SegWit was a win win.

Fast forward to now and SegWit has been developed, fully tested and is ready to be implemented as a soft fork.

Great news you would think, except if you go to the big blocker parts of the Internet, suddenly SegWit is considered dangerous!

The argument isn’t that SegWit is bad, it’s that it is way too complicated to be introduced as a soft fork, and should have been implemented as a hard fork. They also claim that the complexity of the code (over 500 lines), and compromises required as a soft fork will make Bitcoin really difficult to develop for in the future.

The developers at Bitcoin Core, who have delivered the solid dependability for which Bitcoin has become known, have collectively decided that SegWit was not just within their capabilities to write, but also to build upon in the future.

If any serious developer is arguing that Bitcoin is going to be too complicated for them after SegWit, they’re probably not a good enough developer that they should even be considering working on such a critical software. Anyone who isn’t a developer frankly needs to keep their concern to themselves, as they are not qualified to hold such a view.

I’d be a lot less harsh if SegWit had suddenly been announced and implemented under a shroud of secrecy. The Core developers said in December however, that SegWit would be coded as a soft fork.

If any rival team of developers disagreed with this approach they had a simple solution… write their own implementation of SegWit as a hard fork.

This would give them an opportunity to showcase their abilities, and give the community something to think about. If it was as simple and elegant as they say… they could have had the code ready months before Core, impressed us all with its elegance, and really built some momentum

What do we have instead? We have a small community determined to do everything in its power to block SegWit activation. It’s a shame that instead of sitting on the sidelines complaining, they didn’t take some initiative. They need to learn from this experience, as right now they just look like the petty children who have taken their ball and gone home because the game isn’t going their way.

photo credit: John Spooner Beware of the Troll via photopin (license)

The blocksize debate: is an end in sight for the civil war that has engulfed Bitcoin?

Depending on which parts of the Internet you inhabit, your perception of what’s happening in Bitcoin land can vary hugely.

The Bitcoin community is bitterly divided. For years now it has been split into two camps, those who think Bitcoin needs an urgent blocksize increase, and those that think other scaling approaches should be prioritised.

The “big blockers” are worried that with the current limit of mostly full 1MB blocks, there isn’t enough capacity for Bitcoin to grow. They think this will cause real harm to Bitcoin’s network effect, and that not addressing it urgently could result in Bitcoin losing its position and momentum as #1 cryptocurrency.

Whether you see merit in this view or not, it’s important to recognise that to somebody who is convinced that failing to urgently raise the blocksize could lead to Bitcoin’s downfall, the current standoff and ongoing lack of an increase would be incredibly frustrating. It is understandable that frustration and helplessness would lead to a deep seated suspicion and contempt for those they see as standing in their way.

For those of you that don’t visit the big blockers communities, it’s staggering to see the vitriol and anger directed at those “progress preventers” the Bitcoin Core developers, the team that has long served as custodians of the main Bitcoin implementation.

While big blocker communities can feel a little bit like the front line of a war, frequenting the “small blocker” parts of the Internet can feel a lot happier – you wouldn’t necessarily realise there even was war.

The thing is that everyone, big and small blockers alike, agree that Bitcoin needs to scale.

The Bitcoin Core team have identified a few interesting ideas that they believe are the best way to scale Bitcoin, primarily Segregated Witness (SegWit), and Lightning Network.

Lightning Network is not popular with big blockers. It aims to move transactions off chain, sending them directly between individuals rather than being stored by every participant on the network.

They are skeptical, arguing that it is hypothetical and unproven, and that even if it achieved everything claimed, it does nothing to address the scaling problems that Bitcoin is facing right now. Many also believe that these transactions taking place “off chain”, are undesirable and not part of Satoshi’s vision.

They contend that on chain scaling is an essential and easy fix that can be implemented immediately, and that Lightning Network is a distraction, causing Core developers to neglect more pressing issues.

I can understand these concerns, but I also see the merit in the approach taken by the Core developers. In summary, an increase in blocksize is a barrier to running a node and reduces decentralisation, a sacred and essential property of Bitcoin which, they contend, must be preserved as much as possible.

Middle ground is hard to find when the argument is so subjective. On one side, a $0.09 transaction fee is far too high and going to put off new users so Bitcoin never grows. On the other a $0.09 transaction is far too cheap to require that every full node, thousands now, possibly millions in the future, is required to store details of $2 coffee purchases for thousands of years to come – leading to a bloated chain that will suffocate under its own weight and jeopardise the highly prized property of decentralisation.

SegWit seems to be a middle ground. It works by splitting the data from transactions into two parts, half of which can be included in 1MB blocks, the other half stored separately and not contributing towards the block size limit, while improving a other areas of Bitcoin (like transaction malleability) as an added bonus.

This, the developers claim, will give an effective block size increase to around 1.7MB without requiring that everyone upgrade their software (a hard fork).

Great news, you would think, the big blockers and small blockers can both agree this is a win win for Bitcoin. Also, there’s no longer need to wait, SegWit is coded, tested and ready for implementation.

The thing is, to the surprise of those who don’t frequent the big blocker communities, the frustration and suspicion has grown so pernicious that SegWit is not trusted. They don’t believe it does enough to address Bitcoin’s urgent scaling problem, has taken too long, and will take too long to come into effect.

There is almost a sense that, in accepting SegWit, they will have “lost”, and that they still haven’t been listened to. Some even argue that introducing SegWit as a soft fork is more dangerous.

All this frustration and bad feeling has manifested itself in the rejection by the big blocker community of SegWit. They would rather block its implementation than “lose”.

You might think they’d be barmy to block something that is ready to increase Bitcoin’s capacity, but that is exactly the plan. They have lost complete confidence in Bitcoin Core and many would like to see a switch to a rival implementation, Bitcoin Unlimited, that would allow miners to decide the maximum block size instead.

There is a genuine belief that in blocking SegWit, they can force a stalemate that will enable them to push the community into choosing “their” scaling solution, and that they can still win the war.

If you’ve not passed by this community, this may sound absolutely outrageous. To everyone else, the war is almost over, but to those on the other side, battle has just commenced.

So, what happens now?

In order to be activated, SegWit requires 95% of miners to vote for its activation. Currently, mining pool ViaBTC has stated it will vote against SegWit, and since it has over 5% of hash power, it will succeed.

This leads to an interesting dynamic. To those outside the big block community, those that have most vocally demanded the network capacity increase are now the ones standing in its way. In a war of ideas, it’s hard to see that the big blockers are going to suddenly gain much new support when it looks like this.

How will the Core developers react? Well, I think they’ll patiently respect the 95% activation threshold.

It’s also interesting to note that a number of prominent Core developers signed an agreement in February about how to scale Bitcoin.

The agreement was that SegWit would be worked on as a priority, and the once finished the developers would take around 3 months to write code for a hard fork to increase the block size somewhere between 2-4MB.

They then went on to estimate that SegWit would be coded by April, and if that were the case the hard fork would be coded by July 2016. This is unfortunate, because this optimistic timescale has led to accusations that the Core developers had failed on their “promise” to code a hard fork by July.

Software often takes longer than hoped, but it is a shame this mention of July 2016 has led to some in the big block community feel like they have been betrayed and misled, when it was an estimate rather than a commitment.

If Core developers present had said SegWit would take until October 2016 instead of April 2016, it is possible that consensus may not have been agreed- and you could argue was agreed on false pretences. While I believe this was a genuine underestimation, I can understand why others already cynical would assume the worst.

So, what happens now? Well, SegWit will probably not activate, and the Core developers who signed that agreement will spend the next 3 months writing the code they promised for a hard fork – those present signed the agreement and their reputation now depends on it.

It would actually be good for the big blocker cause if the Core developers present reneged on the agreement, as they would be vindicated and would gain new support.

In the meantime, the big blockers will promote Bitcoin Unlimited, and despite their overwhelming optimism in the face of what to many looks like adversity, it will probably face the same fate as Bitcoin XT and Bitcoin Classic, similar attempts which failed before it.

Around 3 months from now we’ll possibly still be waiting for SegWit activation, but we’ll probably have code for a blocksize increase. The thing is, part of the agreement was that the code would not be implemented by Core until after SegWit had activated.

At that point, I feel the guns may fall silent, and the great Bitcoin war could finally reach its conclusion.

Craig Wright is a liar and anyone who still believes he is Satoshi is a gullible fool

Forgive the blunt tone of this post, but I wanted to be to the point. Craig Wright has now declared he will not be providing the promised proof that he is Satoshi.

I thought he may try and drag it out a little longer… but the outcome was always going to be the same – failure to provide evidence.
His ruse didn’t play out how he planned. He thought he could gain credibility from a simple confidence trick on Gavin and others and that the community would all hail Caesar and accept a public signature from block 9 as proof. He was naive and/or desperate to think that is how it would play out.

Let us be objective. Craig Wright’s reputation and credibility is mud and could not sink lower. Consequently he has absolutely nothing to gain by failing to provide the proof he claims to possess. The only objective explanation is that he is a fraud.

His only shred of hope now is that a small core of gullible fools will continue to believe in and defend him, don’t. He has made this mess himself, and if he is telling the truth only he has the power to fix it – do not drag your reputation down with his. Even if he somehow did turn out to be Satoshi he is responsible for how this has played out.

The proof that he is a fraud will likely come in the outcome of his investigation by the Australian Tax Office.

On a human side, Craig Wright must be in a pretty desperate place to even try and pull this off, I actually feel bad for him. I hope now that he will face reality and come clean with the full truth, for his own sake and for the family of Dave Kleiman.

The feather in Wright’s cap: demonstrating a signature from block #1 to Gavin Andresen is going to backfire spectacularly and will ultimately prove his downfall

Imagine you’re trying to convince the world you created Bitcoin.

What greater coup than convincing Gavin Andresen of your legitimacy, Satoshi’s chosen successor and the man who arguably knew him better than any other.

So, how would you do it? Well, if you have a private key that the real Satoshi Nakamoto would possess it’s easy. You ask for a message to sign, sign that message, and then send the signature back to be verified. The whole process can be completed from the opposite ends of the world in minutes with 100% certainty.

What would you do if you didn’t have that private key? Well, you might ask someone to fly to London to meet with you and ask them to sign a nondisclosure agreement. That way, if the meeting doesn’t go as you hoped, they’re not allowed to comment on it.

You could then alter the software on a laptop to make it say that an invalid signature is actually valid. You could then stick a factory seal on the box, bring it out, and claim your assistant just bought it brand new from the shop so it could not possibly have been interfered with. You could then demonstrate an invalid key, and then take away the USB pen and laptop so that person had no evidence to check for themselves.

Somehow, that plan worked. The BBC ran with the headline “Craig Wright reveals himself as Satoshi Nakamoto”.

Then, everyone else was confused – where was the evidence?

Craig Wright has a big problem now. He could have tried to claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto but concoct some elaborate excuse for why he was unable to access any private keys that Satoshi would have owned. This would have made an already difficult con even more insurmountable, but would at least give him plausible deniability – nobody could prove his story was false.

The problem is, Craig Wright claims to have demonstrated using a private key from block #1 to Gavin Andresen. That means he can no longer concoct such an excuse as a get out of jail free card. He now must either put up or shut up.

If Craig Wright genuinely signed a message from block #1 for Andresen, then he still has that private key and can prove it in minutes. That he keeps dragging this out is very telling.

Convincing Gavin Andresen he possessed the private key to block #1 once seemed his greatest asset, it has now become his greatest liability.

photo credit: Feather in my cap via photopin (license)

Here’s how Craig Wright probably tricked Gavin Andresen

What an exciting and dramatic day for Bitcoin.





Let’s find out what happened. In his blog Andresen says:













This USB stick was then put inside a brand new laptop.




















Will full blocks really be bad news for Bitcoin?










photo credit: 20,000 Miles via photopin (license)