The Bitcoin scalability problem refers to the limited capability of the Bitcoin network to handle large amounts of transaction data on its platform in a short span of time.[1] It is related to the fact that records (known as blocks) in the Bitcoin blockchain are limited in size and frequency.[2]
Bitcoin's blocks contain the transactions on the bitcoin network.[3]: ch. 2 The on-chain transaction processing capacity of the bitcoin network is limited by the average block creation time of 10 minutes and the original block size limit of 1 megabyte. These jointly constrain the network's throughput. The transaction processing capacity maximum estimated using an average or median transaction size is between 3.3 and 7 transactions per second.[2] There are various proposed and activated solutions to address this issue.
- ^ [The Limits to Blockchain? Scaling vs. Decentralization.] Social Science Research Network. Cybersecurity, Privacy & Networks eJournal. Accessed 21 April 2019.
- ^ a b Croman, Kyle; Eyal, Ittay (2016). "On Scaling Decentralized Blockchains" (PDF). Financial Cryptography and Data Security. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 9604. pp. 106–125. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-53357-4_8. ISBN 978-3-662-53356-7. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
The maximum throughput is the maximum rate at which the blockchain can confirm transactions. Today, bitcoin's maximum throughput is 3.3–7 transactions/sec [1]. This number is constrained by the maximum block size and the inter-block time.
- ^ Antonopoulos, Andreas M. (April 2014). Mastering Bitcoin. Unlocking Digital Crypto-Currencies. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-1-4493-7404-4.