The Blocksize War is a captivating deep dive into one of the most defining conflicts in Bitcoin’s history. Author Jonathan Bier masterfully chronicles the intense technical and ideological battle that raged from 2015 to 2017 over the size of Bitcoin’s blocks.
At the heart of the war was a dispute over Bitcoin’s protocol rules and who has the power to control them. While the surface-level debate centered on block sizes, the conflict exposed much deeper divisions within the Bitcoin community. On one side were the “large blockers” who advocated for increasing block sizes to enable greater transaction throughput and lower fees. Opposing them were the “small blockers” who prioritized decentralization and believed that limiting block sizes was essential to preserving Bitcoin’s core ethos.
Bier’s comprehensive account explores the key players, strategies, and turning points of this protracted struggle. He delves into the motivations and thought processes of the protagonists, revealing how the small blockers ultimately succeeded in shaping the narrative and public sentiment in their favor. Despite the large blockers’ financial resources and influence, the small blockers proved more adept at crafting a compelling vision for Bitcoin as “a new form of money where the users set the rules.”
Ultimately, the Blocksize War underscores the profound philosophical differences within the Bitcoin community and the challenges of governing a decentralized, global monetary system. Bier’s insightful analysis shows how this conflict was not merely a technical debate, but a high-stakes battle for the very soul of Bitcoin. For anyone seeking to understand the complex politics and power dynamics that have shaped the evolution of the world’s first cryptocurrency, this book is an essential read.
