The Daily Hodl
  • FEATURES
    • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple and XRP
    • Altcoins
    • Trading
    • NFTs
    • Blockchain
    • Futuremash
    • Regulators
    • Scams
    • Crypto 101
  • HODLX
    • Latest Stories
    • FAQ
    • Submit Guest Post
  • INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
    • Latest
    • Press Releases
    • ChainWire
    • Sponsored Posts
    • Submit Your Content
  • CRYPTO MARKETS
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Binance Coin (BNB)
  • BEGINNERS
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • What Is Blockchain?
    • What Does Hodl Mean?
    • How to Pay Your Bills with Bitcoin
    • Best Bitcoin FAQs
    • Example of Bitcoin’s Purpose
    • Cryptocurrency Has Multiple Meanings
    • Authenticator Alert – Securing Your Crypto
  • SUBMIT
    • Guest Post
    • Press Release
    • Sponsored Post
    • Advertise
  • EMAIL ALERTS
  • DAILY HODL MIX
No Result
View All Result
  • FEATURES
    • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple and XRP
    • Altcoins
    • Trading
    • NFTs
    • Blockchain
    • Futuremash
    • Regulators
    • Scams
    • Crypto 101
  • HODLX
    • Latest Stories
    • FAQ
    • Submit Guest Post
  • INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
    • Latest
    • Press Releases
    • ChainWire
    • Sponsored Posts
    • Submit Your Content
  • CRYPTO MARKETS
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Binance Coin (BNB)
  • BEGINNERS
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • What Is Blockchain?
    • What Does Hodl Mean?
    • How to Pay Your Bills with Bitcoin
    • Best Bitcoin FAQs
    • Example of Bitcoin’s Purpose
    • Cryptocurrency Has Multiple Meanings
    • Authenticator Alert – Securing Your Crypto
  • SUBMIT
    • Guest Post
    • Press Release
    • Sponsored Post
    • Advertise
  • EMAIL ALERTS
  • DAILY HODL MIX
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Hodl
No Result
View All Result

Bitcoin Scalability and the Block Propagation Problem

by Vinod Manoharan
August 3, 2020
in HodlX
HodlX Guest Post  Submit Your Post
 

The lack of scalability is known to be the foremost obstacle standing in the way of mass adoption of blockchain technology. All existing blockchain projects look for solutions that could improve performance of their network. Many emerging projects claim that they have a magic bullet that could solve the problem. However, such assertions are not always valid. Unfortunately, many observers and investors do not realize the core and root of this problem. Without deep investigation and considerable technical background, it’s difficult to determine hidden bottlenecks and trade-offs. In this post, we are going to discuss one well-known bottleneck that prevents Bitcoin from scaling.

Shortly after the invention of the decentralized peer-to-peer network Bitcoin, researchers got interested in what determines the limits of Bitcoin’s scaling. Soon the core issue was determined and described in terms of block propagation time or block propagation delay.

It’s an average time that is needed for the new block to reach the majority of nodes in the network. In a large decentralized network like Bitcoin, whenever the new block is generated, it is broadcasted according to the Gossip protocol. If some node has the new valid block, it informs nodes connected to it about its new possession. Then the node transfers this block to those nodes which asked it to do that. Before the block reaches each full node in the network, it passes through seven intermediary nodes. It’s important that every honest node verifies the block before relaying it to other peers. Obviously, the whole thing takes a while. Every new block shakes the network and makes nodes and ethernet connections between them working at full power.

One might argue that since the launch of the network, there have been many improvements to the Gossip protocol. For example, the Bitcoin improvement proposal BIP 0152 introduced the option to transfer only short transaction IDs, instead of the whole list of transactions, in the block body. However, if the node doesn’t have that transaction in its mempool, it has to ask its peers to transfer it in a separate message. If there is a large number of such transactions in the block, then improvement from BIP 0152 disappears.

Since data transmission is the most time-consuming part of the block relay, researchers got interested in determining how much time is required for a data packet of a certain size to reach 50%, 90% or 95% of nodes in the network. It was found that for blocks larger than 20kB, the block propagation delay is nearly proportional to the block size.

According to research published in 2013, every extra kB of data in the block caused an extra 80ms of block propagation delay. Since then, a couple of academic papers and surveys on this topic have been published every year. They update the aforementioned data and discuss various improvement proposals. Moreover, the site monitors the current state of the Bitcoin network and the block propagation time. Also, it provides charts with historical data on this subject.

The majority of well-established blockchain networks have the same design as Bitcoin. As a result, the block propagation time in these networks obeys the same rules. Unfortunately, the block propagation time has a massive effect on blockchain security. The longer the propagation time in the network, the more often miners mine on top of old blocks. As a result, forking of the main chain occurs more often, and the percentage of orphan blocks rises. The long propagation delay leads to the so-called Verifiers Dilemma.

Some nodes may find that skipping the block verification step could be a profitable strategy. In this case, they face the risk of mining on top of the wrong block. However, if block verification time is significant, this strategy could be profitable. Researchers found that a long propagation delay reduces the node’s resistance against 51% attacks and selfish mining.

In order to address the aforementioned problem, blockchain developers often try to keep the block propagation time to be less than 1% of the average block time.

This is true for Bitcoin, Ethereum and other major blockchain networks that are based on proof-of-work consensus. For this reason, block propagation time to 50% of the nodes in the Bitcoin network is often below 6 seconds.

Although fast block relay, like the one described in BIP 0152, reduces the average block propagation time, in the worst-case scenario it could take more time than the basic protocol. It’s important that even in the worst-case scenario, the propagation delay should be reasonable, so that miners will keep their nodes synchronized most of the time, and will always verify proposed blocks.

Whenever people talk about scalability of the blockchain, they mention the transaction throughput of the system. However, people forgot that improvements in transaction throughput shouldn’t compromise the network’s security or raise data storage requirements for nodes desiring to participate in the network. These modifications could decrease the number of independent transaction validators in the network, thereby reducing decentralization.

where
Bsize is the block size in bytes;
Tsize is the average size of transaction record in the block;
Btime is the average time between consecutive blocks in the blockchain.

Obviously, transaction throughput could be increased by increasing the block size, by reducing the transaction record size, or by reducing the interval between blocks. It’s rather hard to reduce the size of the transaction records. One might instead try the other two options. However, these actions will increase the percentage of time that is spent on block propagation. Thus, the security and decentralization of the network could get compromised.

One might notice that in the described Bitcoin protocol, network resources are used inefficiently. Every node processes and transmits the vital data about a new block only a small fraction of time. Its network bandwidth is really important, but it is used in full for only a few seconds at a time. The rest of the time, this node transmits only pending transactions and auxiliary data. This observation has inspired researchers to look for more efficient protocol designs that could dramatically improve transaction throughput without compromising security and decentralization of the network. In our next post, we will discuss approaches for solving the block propagation problem that have been proposed in recent years.


Vinod Manoharan is a technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Jax Multiversal Holdings, a holdings company whose portfolio includes online gaming companies, payment gateways and Blockchain technology companies. Manoharan is also the founder of JAX.Network, a tech startup in Ukraine, focused on blockchain technology and more specifically, solving the infamous blockchain scalability trilemma.

 
Check Latest Headlines on HodlX


Follow Us on Twitter Facebook Telegram

Check out the Latest Industry Announcements
 

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/whiteMocca

Submit a Press Release

Industry Announcements

  • Bunzz Raises $4.5 Million Seed Round To Expand Its Smart Contract Hub for DApp Development
    January 24, 2023
  • Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Better Watch Out – Floki Just Had Three Big Things Happen for It
    January 24, 2023
  • Crypto Marketing – What Initiatives Will Bring More Value and Users in 2023
    January 23, 2023
  • Make Crypto Payments on BChat Web 3.0 Messenger – BChat Integrates Beldex Wallet
    January 22, 2023
  • KEY3.id Supports Multi-Chain Transaction, Partnership With KuCoin Wallet, CoinHub Wallet and Wallet3 To Launch 2023 Lucky Transaction Campaign With Over 30,000 Participants on Social
    January 20, 2023
  • Deposit EUR/GBP at Zero Percent Fees With Newly Launched SEPA/FPS Channels on Bitget
    January 19, 2023
  • Coinbase Lists Kava, Advancing Ethereum–Cosmos Interoperability
    January 18, 2023
Submit a Guest Post
ADVERTISEMENT
Bitcoin
$23,023.17
$23,023.17
0.66%
Ethereum
$1,578.43
$1,578.43
0.9%
Cardano
$0.386137
$0.386137
0.84%
XRP
$0.4109
$0.4109
0.19%
Dogecoin
$0.088824
$0.088824
2.43%

Spotlight

  • Analyst Benjamin Cowen Issues Crypto Warning, Says Bitcoin (BTC) Rally Likely Unsustainable – Here’s Why
    January 24, 2023
  • Leading Crypto Analyst Dives Into Bitcoin and Ethereum, Says Two Altcoins Are ‘Going Through the Roof’
    January 26, 2023
  • Top Analyst Details Massive Bitcoin Target, Says Major Paradigm Shift Potentially Underway
    January 22, 2023
  • Majority of Dogecoin (DOGE) Holders Now in Profit After Shiba Inu Rival Rallies 32% This Month: IntoTheBlock
    January 25, 2023
DON'T MISS A BEAT
Crypto headlines delivered daily
to your inbox
BTC, ETH, XRP news alert options
By joining The Daily Hodl news list you agree to our
Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/Billion Photos

Cryptocurrency news and analysis, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, XRP, altcoins and blockchain technology

Categories

Bitcoin • Ethereum • Trading •
Ripple and XRP • Altcoins •
Blockchain • Regulators •
Scams • Crypto101 • HodlX •
Futuremash •
Industry Announcements

ABOUT US | EDITORIAL POLICY | PRIVACY POLICY
TERMS AND CONDITIONS | CONTACT | ADVERTISE

JOIN US ON TELEGRAM

JOIN US ON TWITTER

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

COPYRIGHT © 2017-2023 THE DAILY HODL

No Result
View All Result
  • FEATURES
    • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple and XRP
    • Altcoins
    • Trading
    • NFTs
    • Blockchain
    • Futuremash
    • Regulators
    • Scams
    • Crypto 101
  • HODLX
    • Latest Stories
    • FAQ
    • Submit Guest Post
  • INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
    • Latest
    • Press Releases
    • ChainWire
    • Sponsored Posts
    • Submit Your Content
  • CRYPTO MARKETS
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Binance Coin (BNB)
  • BEGINNERS
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • What Is Blockchain?
    • What Does Hodl Mean?
    • How to Pay Your Bills with Bitcoin
    • Best Bitcoin FAQs
    • Example of Bitcoin’s Purpose
    • Cryptocurrency Has Multiple Meanings
    • Authenticator Alert – Securing Your Crypto
  • SUBMIT
    • Guest Post
    • Press Release
    • Sponsored Post
    • Advertise
  • EMAIL ALERTS
  • DAILY HODL MIX

© 2023 The Daily Hodl