"... with a fancy new blockchain?" -- TheCatman

I wouldn't classify it as a blockchain at all -- rather, it is a true ledger, which simply records the current balance in all accounts. For example, in Bitcoin, determining the balance in an "account" requires a complete rescan of the entire blockchain. In Zapcoin, one simply reads the balance. -- Shatosi

Yes, that's what I'd call it too.

Please comment (and be kind): https://sites.google.com/site/shatosimakanoto/zapcoin

Is there any way to know or estimate how many nodes are active on the network? I'm concerned because it seems as though the interconnection of nodes is quite random, and so the number of hops required for data to be distributed around the network could be very high. The problem is mitigated by the fact that there are super-nodes that have tens of thousands of connections (https://blockchain.info/hub-nodes), but that introduces another problem: single points of failure or government interference.

Thanks, explodicle, that helps a lot.

Maybe you know the answer to another question that's been bugging me: is there any way to know or estimate how many nodes are active on the network? I'm concerned because it seems as though the interconnection of nodes is quite random, and so the number of hops required for data to be distributed around the network could be very high. The probem is mitigated by the fact that there are super-nodes that have tens of thousands of connections (https://blockchain.info/hub-nodes), but that introduces another problem: single points of failure or possible government interference.

Still, 100X instead of 10X seems like it could not handle a global full implementation.

Question: Since blocks are limited to 1MB in size (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses#Denial_of_Service_.28DoS.29_attacks), and a typical transaction is, say, 282 bytes (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Protocol_specification#tx), is a block limited to 1MB/282 ~= 3718 transactions? That would translate to 3718/600 ~= 6 transactions/second. Bitcoin transaction traffic is currently about 50K transactions per day, or 0.6 transactions per second. Does that mean that traffic can only increase by tenfold from its current rate? That seems pretty paltry!

Please consider the following proposal and comment:

https://sites.google.com/site/shatosimakanoto/

Moderator, please consider this post for transfer to the "Development & Technical Discussion" thread.

    -- Shatosi