Renowned economist and author of "The Bitcoin Standard," Saifedean Ammous, recently entered the fray in the debate surrounding spam inscriptions on the Bitcoin network, proposing a proactive approach to combat this issue. Ammous expressed willingness to contribute funds to support a full-time developer dedicated to enhancing measures that would make Bitcoin spamming more challenging and costly.
The discussion was ignited by GrassFedBitcoin, a pseudonymous developer, who advocated for the integration of pull request #28408 into Bitcoin Core. This update aims to facilitate node operators in filtering out inscriptions more effectively. GrassFedBitcoin highlighted that the absence of inscription filtering tools contributes to unnecessary blockchain bloat, potentially undermining Bitcoin's role as a monetary protocol.
According to GrassFedBitcoin, the current lack of inscription filtering tools leads to unnecessary blockchain bloating and undermines Bitcoin's primary function as a monetary protocol. He emphasized the importance of implementing a configurable default policy that discourages the use of Bitcoin for storing non-monetary data like images.
However, Blockstream CEO Adam Back raised concerns about inscription filtering, labeling it as an "arms race." He pointed out the dynamic nature of spam data embedded in Bitcoin transactions, which constantly evolves and necessitates regular updates to filtering mechanisms.
Ammous drew parallels between the Bitcoin spam issue and the persistent problem of email spam, likening the efforts to combat both as necessary battles within the respective systems. He emphasized the importance of tackling spam to deter malicious actors more effectively.
The discussion also touched on the role of developers in combating spam, with suggestions to undermine the efforts of those creating spam tools and even hiring external developers to counter them. This reflects the ongoing tensions within the Bitcoin community regarding the network's purpose and how best to address challenges like spam inscriptions.
The growing concern over network congestion due to inscriptions was highlighted in a report by Mempool Research, projecting that the adoption of inscriptions could potentially increase Bitcoin's average block size to 4 megabytes per block, significantly higher than the current average of around 1.5 MB.
As the Bitcoin community grapples with these challenges, the debate over how to address spam inscriptions and maintain the efficiency and integrity of the network continues to evolve. The proactive stance proposed by Ammous underscores the ongoing efforts to uphold Bitcoin's functionality and combat potential threats to its ecosystem.
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