Small blockers vs. big blockers
Jonathan Bier’s “The Blocksize War” emphasizes the small blockers’ view. It argues that larger blocks would make it prohibitively expensive and technically challenging for individuals to run nodes, leading to centralization. Small blockers believed that changes to Bitcoin’s protocol, especially through hard forks, should be rare and achieve broad consensus among users.
Buterin’s perspective
Vitalik Buterin introduced the concept of a “one-sided competence trap,” where one side of a debate monopolizes technical competence, using it to push a narrow agenda. Meanwhile, the opposition, though correct on the fundamental issue, fails to develop the necessary competence to execute their vision.
This dynamic, according to Buterin, was evident in the block size war, with small blockers maintaining technical control while big blockers struggled to implement their ideas effectively. Buterin stressed that the ultimate solution to such political and technical stalemates lies in new technologies that can satisfy both sides.
He pointed to Ethereum’s embrace of technologies like ZK-SNARKs and BLS aggregation as examples of how innovative solutions can enhance scalability and decentralization simultaneously. He expressed hope that Bitcoin would adopt a more tech-forward approach. The development of new layer-2 solutions like Inscriptions and BitVM could pave the way for a more scalable and decentralized Bitcoin ecosystem.
