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

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