Vitalik Buterin: Bitcoin Needs More Scaling Solutions

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, expressed his thoughts on Bitcoin’s scaling solutions and its political dynamics during a recent Twitter Spaces conversation. Buterin, joined by Eric Wall, known as the “altcoin slayer,” and Bitcoin developer Udi Wertheimer, engaged in a discussion about what Bitcoin can learn from Ethereum.

Vitalik: I think if we want Bitcoin to be more than just payments, it will need scaling options like Plasma or ZK Rollups, Optimism and Arbitrum are two successful examples of “rollups” that could serve as case studies for Bitcoin, it would “be good to have an open mind” with…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 10, 2023

Vitalik Buterin Advocates Scaling Solutions

A key issue addressed was Bitcoin’s slow transaction throughput, which has prompted the need for layer two scaling approaches to enhance transaction speed. Buterin emphasized the importance of scaling solutions for Bitcoin beyond just payments and mentioned experiments carried out on Ethereum. He specifically highlighted Plasma and ZK Rollups as potential options for Bitcoin, along with successful examples such as Optimism and Arbitrum.

Ethereum itself has been actively exploring various scaling solutions over the years. Their latest update, EIP-4844, introduces blob blocks that enable up to 100,000 transactions per second. Buterin encouraged Bitcoin to study these trials, although he acknowledged the likelihood of controversy with regards to security concerns.

During the discussion, Wall raised concerns about the security model and the 21 million hard cap of Bitcoin. Buterin admitted grappling with this issue himself and suggested that Ordinals could address potential security challenges by providing a reasonable fee market to compensate for reducing block subsidies.

Buterin also highlighted the positive aspects shared by both Ethereum and Bitcoin. He mentioned claims of immutability and layer-1 privacy issues as common ground between the two ecosystems. Additionally, he pointed out the challenges faced by decentralized consensus models in both chains.

Despite the differences between Ethereum and Bitcoin, Buterin concluded on an optimistic note, emphasizing the importance of having multiple chains in the world. He believed that a world with at least one of these chains is better than none at all, suggesting a potential for collaboration and unity between the communities.

The conversation, which attracted over 32,000 listeners, shed light on the scaling challenges faced by Bitcoin and the lessons it could learn from Ethereum’s experiments. Buterin’s insights and suggestions provided an opportunity for both communities to explore potential solutions and bridge the gap between their respective ecosystems.