Adam Back Proposes Increasing Block Size to Support Inscriptions
Adam Back, the CEO of Blockstream, has acknowledged that it is futile to try and stop inscriptions, which are media embedded directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. He believes that taking action against inscriptions will only lead users to find alternative, potentially worse, ways of embedding media. Instead, Back has proposed adding a new blob of data to Bitcoin blocks specifically dedicated to inscription purposes.
Back’s Criticism of the Ordinals Protocol
Back has been critical of the Ordinals protocol since its launch, referring to it as inefficient and stupid. He has prompted developers to explore other solutions like IPFS to achieve similar objectives.
Dealing with Congestion Using a “Segwit Annex”
Ordinal inscriptions and stamps, which involve media embedding on Bitcoin, have resulted in high transaction fees, reaching over $40. Back suggests that addressing this congestion issue can be done by allocating space within each block specifically for hosting inscriptions. He proposes the creation of a “segwit annex” that miners would pay to access, offering a discount compared to taproot inscriptions.
Support from the Community
Back’s proposal has received support from many users in the community who have noted similarities to Ethereum’s Proto-Danksharding, which adds data blobs with a limited lifespan to the Ethereum blockchain, accompanied by their own fee market.
Hot Take: Block Size Increase Offers Solution to Inscriptions
Adam Back’s proposal to increase the block size in order to accommodate inscriptions on Bitcoin provides a potential solution to the issue of embedded media. Acknowledging the futility of trying to stop such inscriptions, Back suggests a dedicated space within each block for inscription purposes. This approach not only addresses congestion concerns but also offers a discount for miners. Support from the community indicates that this proposal aligns with similar solutions in other blockchain networks.