Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: Gavin Andresen Proposes Bitcoin Hard Fork to Address Network Scalability
by
The00Dustin
on 28/10/2014, 09:44:27 UTC
High transaction fees:

7 tps limit:

5 bitcoins (transaction reward) / 4200 (tranactions per block) = 0.001190 transaction fee. Way too high for the consumer paying his hamburger at a restaurant.

Actually, that's about the price he is currently paying due to credit card fees, it's just hidden so he doesn't know he's paying it.
Unfortunately, much like paying cash doesn't save consumers the credit card transaction fee covering markups at most establishments, paying in Bitcoin probably won't either, so this will be in addition to the price he is paying due to credit card fees.
Lastly (and back closer to topic), I would point out that to Bitcoin a sidechain should look much like any old user.  It is no more 'storing Bitcoin information outside of the Bitcoin blockchain' than it would be keeping one's private keys private.  To the extent that it is, that is a good thing in my mind.  There is utterly no need to document your purchase of a hamburger in a persistent (forever) way which is replicated on multiple copies of the blockchain and distributed around the world.  Cool as it may be, it costs money and limits flexibility.  It is also something of a privacy issue to be honest.
I think a gift card is a good solution to this.  I also think that using a theoretical (not yet possible based on all I've read in this thread) sidechain would ultimately use just as much data overhead to send the Bitcoin to the same places unless you actually bought hamburgers in two separate instances at the same establishment before said establishment converted back to Bitcoin.  The only way around that issue is to give someone or something else control of your Bitcoin private key.  We've already discussed the possibility of a trustless system that could resolve that, but even then, it would effectively be a mixer, and potentially regulated accordingly.
ETA: Also, the trustless system presumably has less hashpower, so is less secure.  Moreover, cash would be another good way to work around the hamburger issue, and ATMs are even popping up to deal with this, but I'm assuming you want a sidechain that is effectively denominated in BTC either because you don't want to carry cash, which may allow for the gift card option, or you are imaging a future where fiat isn't a thing, in which case a gift card could be denominated in BTC.
The sentinals have sent Mr Anderson to sabotage our BTC.
Sir, it has been too long since you have watched the Matrix.  Mr Anderson and the sentinels do NOT get along.  That will be three demerits, and your punishment is to get off the Internet and go watch the trilogy (one movie for each demerit).  That should give you time to think about what you've done.