if memory serves I read somewhere that the cap on the block size was introduced due to DDoS attacks against the network using very large blocks, is it correct?
Due to the potential for such attacks.
I like to think that, like myself, sidechains at least occurred to Satoshi early on in his ruminations about scaling modes. Likely we'll never know though. For my part I imagined the name 'child chains', but whatever. Same diff. They are just a logical sub-set of the Bitcoin solution one way or another.
I actually had a similar thought experiment the other day.
Imagine that Satoshi had built sidechains out the box with Bitcoin.
Would we be worse off
or significantly ahead?
I think sidechains are the most natural extension possible to Bitcoin if they can execute what is in the white paper. Of course that remains to be seen but considering just about all of silicon valley invested in their 20 million seed round. My bet is they will.
one of my other memes is that "most investors in cryptocurrency will lose money". and that includes Silicon Valley investors.
that's b/c most investors/geeks, imo, don't understand what Bitcoin is and what its ultimate destiny will be. and that is the fulfillment of Sound Money as envisioned by the goldbugs and cypherpunks. there are too many common ppl in the world who are depending on us to provide a way to "exit" the fiat system. what resonates with most non US ppl round the world is the fixed supply nature of Bitcoin. they don't care about stocks, bonds, insurance, smart contracts, etc which SC's wants to provide. all they care about is Sound Money that is liquid and acts like a SOV. even Americans hold few stocks and bonds these days as none of them are compelling at these inflated prices and dangerous levels. everyone knows it's a Ponzi Scheme enable by the #1 problem of the day: fiat money printing ala central banks. Bitcoin is a poison dart aimed directly at the heart of this problem and i don't think humanity is going to let this chance go by. this is why the Bitcoin community needs to maintain a focus on what got us to where we are: the SOV sound money function.
we want to force the outsiders to "buy in" to BTC on MC. this is what will take us to The Moon.