The book “The Blocksize War” by Jonathan Bier discusses the dispute intertwined with Bitcoin’s philosophy, mining, and transaction speed.
Introduction and Review of The Blocksize War
Two opposing factions in the Bitcoin community engage in an ongoing and heated debate over block size limitations. Big blockers advocate for increasing block sizes to enhance transaction processing capacity, while Small Blockers support maintaining this limit, arguing for the security and decentralization of the Bitcoin network. The Blocksize War gathers and examines the details of these discussions between 2015 and 2017.
Introduction
Sometimes, a piece of writing, an article, or a book possesses such allure and significance that it compels the reader to read it to the end. One such book is The Blocksize War: The Battle Over Who Controls Bitcoin’s Protocol Rules by Jonathan Bier. According to the author, the writing of this book began in early 2021 and was completed in the same year; it was published in March of that year, spanning 228 pages. An electronic version is also available on Amazon Kindle (if you have a Kindle subscription, you can access this book for free!).
The book addresses the dispute tied to Bitcoin’s essence, mining, and transaction speeds. The size of blocks in the Bitcoin network is set at one megabyte, which creates a processing limitation for the network. As competition increases and demand for Bitcoin rises, the network’s difficulty escalates, requiring more time and energy. This issue has led to a division within the Bitcoin community. The book provides an accurate history of Bitcoin regarding this dispute, which we will discuss further. However, it is beneficial first to briefly review these two groups and the topic itself.
A Brief Overview of the Bitcoin Block Size Dispute
At first glance, and in its simplest form, this issue arises from a “relatively arbitrary” technical characteristic; no one knows on what basis Satoshi Nakamoto determined the one-megabyte block size. A simple question like “What should the size and number of Bitcoin blocks be?” appears to be a technical matter but represents deeper layers involving governance in the cryptocurrency space, political limitations, and the nature of the protocol. This leads to key philosophical questions such as: “What is Bitcoin? What should it be? How should it evolve? How should it change? Who should make those changes?” Ultimately, this debate peaked in 2017 and can be said to have concluded, becoming, in the author’s words, a historical subject from Bitcoin’s ancient times, although discussions about it continue.
The Two Sides of the Dispute
The first group, the Small-blockers, refers to individuals or groups within the Bitcoin community who support maintaining the current block size limit or only a limited increase. This group believes that significantly increasing or removing block size limits makes the Bitcoin network more vulnerable to various attacks and negatively impacts the decentralization and security of the network. They also argue that alternative solutions to scalability challenges, such as off-chain transactions and second-layer scaling, can enhance network efficiency without increasing block size.
The other group, the Big-Blockers, supports larger block sizes and faster scalability for the network. The debate between Small Blockers and Big Blockers has been the main source of disagreement within the Bitcoin community and has played an essential role in shaping the network’s direction.
About the Author
Jonathan Bier, the face behind BitMEX Research, has been less spotlighted. He works as a researcher and journalist in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Many activists and experts in the blockchain technology field consider BitMEX Research one of the industry’s most enlightening and professional research websites. BitMEX Research consistently offers unique and original content covering a broad spectrum of technical, historical, financial, and economic concepts. Bier’s extensive knowledge and high aspirations reflect his deep understanding of protocol design, cryptocurrency markets, and broader areas such as policymaking.
Jonathan Bier, author of The Blocksize War, profoundly understands protocol design, cryptocurrency markets, and broader contexts like policymaking.
In addition to this book, Bier has published another work titled “Reckless: The Story of Cryptocurrency Interest Rates.”
About the Book
Let’s clarify the essence of the book right from the start. Bier’s work is significant, precise, organized, readable, and thoroughly documented with multiple sources and documents. It undoubtedly represents a first-hand account, as the author was involved in nearly all events, articles, and debates related to this topic and tracked them closely. Every active participant and enthusiast knows this dispute and discussion has been extensive and far-reaching over the last two decades; therefore, the author’s work is no longer small or simple. As Bier describes in his book, he has exposed himself to numerous challenges to be present directly at all the main and critical moments, including in-person meetings and conferences in Montreal, Hong Kong, and New York. Few individuals could possess such a first-hand perspective, and even fewer have made considerable efforts to gather materials and take notes from panels and events to compile a credible report on the block size dispute.
Bier’s work is significant, precise, organized, readable, and thoroughly documented with multiple sources and documents.
If we say that the existence of a committed journalist and researcher like Bier is a great treasure, we are not exaggerating. Over the past decade, we know that the block size wars were vital for understanding governance and consensus within the Bitcoin community, as today’s situation is not the result of spontaneous decisions but rather the outcome of a patient process grounded in tested experience within a democratic space. However, to understand how impactful these informal meetings and gatherings have been and how effective they will be in the future, the existence of such books is essential.
The author has tried to remain rational, logical, and neutral, narrating the details without judgment, as we expect from professionals. Nevertheless, his loyalty to the Small-blocker side remains evident. In reality, the author has made every effort to maintain balance and can be said to have succeeded in this endeavor.
Today’s Bitcoin situation is not the result of spontaneous decisions but rather the outcome of a patient process grounded in tested experience within a democratic space.
Like many books on historical events and narratives, this work aims to reduce the characteristics and causal relationships in its discussion and employs simple and clear language to express disagreements. However, Bier has navigated this path more clearly and explicitly, effectively articulating each explanation or justification by presenting key causes, making the differences in perspectives very clear. At the same time, Bier commendably illustrates the various aspects of the disputes and discussions. He has made an effort not to overlook any technical debates, regulatory and legislative considerations, or short-term versus long-term development approaches while also thoroughly exploring the core of the discussion, which is the battle for the nature and essence of the protocol.
As mentioned, the author has demonstrated the immense effort and high ambition he has shown. He writes engagingly and fluently about how this digital world has influenced his real life and how discussions on Reddit or Twitter have occasionally shifted the course of his life. For instance, Bier discovers cryptic messages on the blockchain and promptly heads to Hong Kong to visit a warehouse and uncover the truth. Alternatively, he abandons his hiking and leisure activities to attend a closed-door meeting. In another instance, he endures a tough week battling illness while fulfilling his job and management responsibilities, only to fly across the Atlantic for a conference and return to work on Monday without rest.
This book narrates a battle that was, at times, both exciting and unpleasant. Newcomers to the blockchain world can effectively understand the 2017 conflict and gain a better grasp of the current state of protocols and governance in the Bitcoin community through Bier’s work. Events like UASF and NO2X and the surrounding controversies are vital indicators of the unique governance approach of Bitcoin.
One of the subtle and astute points Bier mentions is that Bitcoin truly serves as a suitable vessel for the expectations, hopes, and dreams of those seeking to escape the authority of traditional financial industries and fiat currencies. Ultimately, Small-blockers successfully articulated a more robust rationale within a clear framework regarding the question, “What should Bitcoin be?” and demonstrated greater skill in charting a correct path. It is essential to remember that a coherent, realistic, practical roadmap and a consistent and logical narrative are powerful and groundbreaking. Unfortunately, few appreciate the capital and intellectual efforts expended on Bitcoin. This work highlights the tremendous effort that has been made.
The book is as much a history of a conflict and technical debate over Bitcoin as a story of a group of Bitcoin enthusiasts who have made extensive efforts against the events and high waves. It narrates the competition among various factions: initially, Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn with XT, followed by Bitcoin Classic, then Unlimited and Bitmain, and finally, the Chinese miners. Bier has done an admirable job of uncovering the nuances and providing reasonable explanations for the behavior of all parties involved.
Bier’s work tells the story of Bitcoin enthusiasts who have made extensive efforts against the events and high waves.
Today, we have gained considerable insights from reflecting on the discussions and ideologies of Big-blockers. While Big-blockers’ popularity has diminished, this group had the necessary space to implement their ideas through chains like BCH and BSV. All the technical and governance arguments this group made for the Bitcoin network, especially in 2016 and 2017, have been tested in the real world. Large blockchains have faced the very same problems that many experts had predicted. They failed to achieve “commercial acceptance,” devise a meaningful method for determining fees, and consequently provide a suitable long-term security model, often entangled with thousands of spam. Thus, it is no surprise that nodes in large blockchains struggle to operate, meaning that ordinary users quickly find themselves disconnected from the main chain and the power circuit. The philosophy and method of fragmentation, which was supposed to resolve disputes and issues surrounding forks, has increasingly led to more forks. These results and conditions have only discredited the protocols defined in favor of larger block sizes.
Former allies of Big-blockers, like Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, are now largely distancing themselves from the philosophy of large block sizes. Ethereum is currently focused on sound monetary policies, a sustainable fee market, and layer scalability through deferred settlements (sidechains, rollups, etc.), which aligns with the philosophy of Bitcoin’s small and limited blocks. This trajectory was entirely predictable, especially considering the deceptive actions of Craig Wright, which led to a backlash against Big-blockers. Such actions have exposed the true nature of the Big-blocker faction, which was based on a blind rage against the core of Bitcoin and a strange attempt to seize its name, brand, and control over its protocol. As Bier notes, the technical issues did not meaningfully shape the discussion.
For years, big blockers’ slogan was “Let the market decide,” and the market made its decision. Indeed, small blockers, who have stood against the efforts and inconsistencies of big blockers for years, deserve the victory song. It is rightly said that “the victors write history.”
