Hey, guys and gals. I'd like to get your feedback on the following:In it's current implementation Iota's ledger is based on
inputs and outputs like Bitcoin. There is another way - balances of accounts like in Nxt and Ethereum.
Now I see that if Iota used the latter it would be more efficient because:
1. No need to send the change back to myself which makes the tangle smaller
2. A lot of dust inputs could be spent with a single payment and this would be more secure because every address reuse leaks the private key
3. A new address wouldn't be needed for every incoming payment (this would make acceptance of Iota donations simple, in the current design it's PITA for humans)
4. Off-tangle payments would become simpler
5. RAM requirement for full nodes would be relaxed
The only problem that might arise in balance-based Iota is worse consensus convergence, but after analyzing the issue I don't see what could break.
I'm thinking if it's worth to do a little redesign that could take few days of extra work...
I'd prefer balances, but dont think most people are qualified myself included to make that judgement call without fully understanding the security/technical impact it could have.