Thomas Voegtlin: Blocksize, Bitcoin Unlimited, ASICBoost and Activating SegWit

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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 discussed in this episode:

• 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

Episode links:

• Electrum Bitcoin Wallet
• ASICBoost – Hacker Noon
• Bitcoin's New Controversy: The AsicBoost Allegations Explained - CoinDesk
• Timo Hanke on ASICBoost and SegWit Non-Activation
• From AsicBoost to UASF: Greg Maxwell on Bitcoin's Path Forward - CoinDesk
• [bitcoin-dev] Thomas Voegtlin: Soft Fork Threshold Signaling Proposal
• UASF Working Group
• [bitcoin-dev] Greg Maxwell: I do not support the BIP 148 UASF
• Thomas Voegtlin: Electrum, SPV Wallets And Bitcoin Aliases — Epicenter

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/179