Quote from: RationalSpeculator on May 19, 2013, 09:16:28 PM

Quote from: Peter Lambert on May 19, 2013, 09:07:38 PM

Quote from: RationalSpeculator on May 19, 2013, 08:40:17 PM

I'm confused about the limits of bitcoin when it comes to amount of transactions. From the discussion about the blocksize limit it looks like many believe that 1 decentralized cryptocurrency will never be able to support the current amount of banking transactions (and thus will need to become a large transactions only currency). But is that true? I would think that the exponential growth of personal computer power, can keep up with the exponential growth of amount of transactions?

Systems like Ripple and MtGox codes allow bitcoins to be sent between users without actually filling the blockchain. If bitcoins continue to grow, then maybe it will be beneficial to switch SatoshiDice to an account-based system where deposits and withdrawals go on the blockchain but most bets are handled internally. My point is that there will be ways for bitcoins to continue being used in many different ways, systems being built on top of bitcoins are a better option than having a bunch of separate cryptocurrencies.

That's not answering my question.

Okay, let me try again:

Yes it's true, bitcoins will become a large transaction system (or small transactions if you are willing to pay for the anonominity (wtf is the correct spelling?)).

No it's not true, bitcoins will be able to handle the current amount banking transactions if you include all the support systems built on top of them, the blockchain just is not scaleable to hold the entire system itself.

What this means for SatoshiDice is that they will have to alter their system over time. But that is why they pay so much for technical support, so that they can keep up and running despite systemic changes.