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RE: Better on Steem
Is there a way around it? Could a chain be split and some of it archived in a blockchain hold odf some sort that preserves it, with copies of the archive available on normal databases as they will be rarely accessed? Wouldn't that stop the chain getting too large?
Here's the thing: witnesses are redundant. We are basically running the entire blockchain off of a single server... twenty times. When any developer looks at it that way blockchain looks totally doomed.
It doesn't matter if we increase the blocksize, we are still running a service on a single server and then copying it hundreds of times to hundreds of nodes. Every time we increase the blocksize we force every other node to increase its capacity as well. This is a centralization issue that actually caused one (or more) Bitcoin forks. By keeping the blocksize low more nodes can participate.
It's no secret that blockchain is a very inefficient database, that's why slogans like "blockchain not Bitcoin" are completely asinine. Blockchain without Bitcoin (value) to back it up is completely worthless. Cryptocurrency is the necessary foundation of these trust networks.
Second-layer scaling solutions are very promising. Using multi-signature technology users can make transactions off-chain in private without anyone else knowing about it. You only have to post these transactions to the blockchain if someone tries to cheat. However, no one is going to cheat because the cheated party can literally prove that the cheater cheated and you can enforce penalties for cheating in a smart-contract.
Bitcoin has Lightning Network.
Litecoin has Lightning network.
Mona coin has Lightning network. ETC.
Ethereum has Plasma.
Multi-sig is just one idea for blockchain to scale, and the big players here at Steem just offered a 1500 Steem bounty simply to write a tutorial on how to use them here.
There are many options when it comes to scaling.
Even DPOS itself is a form of scaling.
We aren't in trouble we just have to assume there will be constant growing pains, just like the Internet.
Thanks for this, it helps me understand a bit more. I need to read up on stuff :)