Bitcoin Forum

Hi, I have proposed a scaling solution before called "Scaling Bitcoin with Subchains": https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1083345.0. I have seen other similar proposals like treechains, sharding, etc:
http://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/scalingbitcoin/sharding-the-blockchain/
https://github.com/vbuterin/scalability_paper/blob/master/scalability.pdf
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3u1m36/why_arent_we_as_a_community_talking_about/cxbamhn
http://eprint.iacr.org/2015/1168.pdf

(No this is not the same as Peter R's subchains)

I don't see any development progressing in this area and I would like to help. It seems the general conclusion is "it's too complex". But, I disagree: I think it is the simplest/most straightforward way to scale to arbitrary transaction volumes. Segregated witness seems ok (still need to see how it will be implemented), but it is not a full scaling solution. As transaction volumes keep increasing we need to have some solution ready. Even if a better solution comes along later on, we need a working solution, and it can be used as a benchmark to compare with other solutions.

I am ready to work on this, and I think I have enough experience to get this done on my own. You can see my web page http://akrmn.org for some links to my work. My goal would be to fork Bitcoin Core to add these features, and have it tested on Test-Net. I need some time to get more used to the code base, but I think I can have a working solution done in 6-12 months. I can also create a formal white paper if people wish.

I currently moved to a new country to lower my living costs, and I basically need 1000 USD/month to live comfortably. Since I expect Bitcoin to continue its up-trend, I would accept 1 BTC/month to cover my expenses. I created a new donation address: 12pdFSHyJTEQaqs1qUzkxxX25SCt4GBzsq.

If I receive x bitcoins to this address, I will work full time on this for x months (12 months maximum for now). Later, I may adjust the rate to the exchange rate. I promise not to let anyone's donations influence the goals of the project. If I don't get enough funding, then I'll continue looking for freelance jobs, but will only be able to work part time on this.

I can also attach a PGP-signed version of this message, but my subkey expired in November, and I am currently unable to find the password for my master key :), so this is the best I have for now.

Thanks

When you "shard" the blockchain you run into problems where the shards can have different economic value, so a bitcoin on one shard could be worth more or less than a bitcoin on another shard, this is because bitcoins travelling from one shard to another have different properties and risks associated with them. They are in fact different economic goods. This is why it is so difficult, if not impossible, to break/shard/sidechain/whatever the bitcoin blockchain as a way to scale the system.
I'm not saying anything crazy here, even two-way pegged bitcoins on sidechains aren't fungible with bitcoins on the main chain.
Intuitively, it seems impossible to create "subchains" with bitcoins that are equally fungible among the main chain and eachother.

If that's the case, then why not separate Proof of Work entirely from the underlying data structures (Like I had spitballed before¹), including cryptocurrencies, and simply allow them to compete and trade openly in the free market? Then we could have, for example, Bitcoin XT and Bitcoin Core co-existing on the same PoW backbone.

Meh, whether you think that's a good idea or not.. How would you address the fungibility problem?

¹https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1170926.msg12328236#msg12328236