What will happen if Bitcoin's network gets too big?

[CamilaStar]

I have been thinking about this recently, what Will happen if Bitcoin network gets too big? Will there be any issues with it's speed or fees

[slaman29]

You probably get a better answer asking Chatgpt to summarize some points for you, I would say Google it but since you came in to the forum asking, then you probably are too lazy for that

Network size nothing to do with how many transactions get handled. That is all programmed into the network rules. Whether its 1 computer or 1 billion computers in the network, all transactions must fit into 1 block of data roughly every 10 minutes. So on average that has been improving over the years because transaction sizes keep getting more efficient in the amount of data (bytes) it takes up in the block.

https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/charts/transactions-per-second says currently above 4 per second.

[Davidvictorson]

You probably get a better answer asking Chatgpt to summarize some points for you, I would say Google it but since you came in to the forum asking, then you probably are too lazy for that

Good thought. He'll get some of the best answers if he goes the chatgpt route. Because his question is so wide and can be answered from different points depending. Since the OP wasn't specific then whatever answer he gets, he may have to provide a feedback to help us refine the response to what he's asking.

[henry_of_skalitz]

^ I agree on that take: OP should clarify what exactly bothers him the most.

[CamilaStar]

^ I agree on that take: OP should clarify what exactly bothers him the most.

in terms of its speed and fees. Will there be any issues

[Sanitough]

I have been thinking about this recently, what Will happen if Bitcoin network gets too big? Will there be any issues with it's speed or fees

The Bitcoin network is already massive, handling almost half a million transactions daily without major issues. There’s no need to worry about the system crashing, because this isn’t a centralized setup, it's decentralized. With thousands of miners distributed globally doing the work, the network stays secure and resilient. In short, downtime is highly unlikely.

[BitGoba]

I have been thinking about this recently, what Will happen if Bitcoin network gets too big? Will there be any issues with it's speed or fees

Bitcoin will still keep producing blocks roughly every 10 minutes, and users will compete to get their transactions included on-chain.It’s important to understand that today most everyday Bitcoin transactions already happen on the Bitcoin Lightning, Bitcoin Lightning transactions are instant and have almost no fees. So the base layer will mainly be used for opening and closing Lightning channels, settling balances, or sending larger amounts of BTC. You can think of the Bitcoin base layer like the Fedwire system in the fiat world , it’s used for final settlement of large transactions, while everyday payments happen on faster, cheaper layers like Lightning.

[nemesis_incarnate]

I have been thinking about this recently, what Will happen if Bitcoin network gets too big? Will there be any issues with it's speed or fees

The Bitcoin network is already massive, handling almost half a million transactions daily without major issues. There’s no need to worry about the system crashing, because this isn’t a centralized setup, it's decentralized. With thousands of miners distributed globally doing the work, the network stays secure and resilient. In short, downtime is highly unlikely.

I agree.

More worries are currently about how much the retailers, common people would possess BTC and their proportions to bigger entities in the long run in the eco.

However, that's too a question that would be developing over the years, if not decades to come..

[peter0425]

You probably get a better answer asking Chatgpt to summarize some points for you, I would say Google it but since you came in to the forum asking, then you probably are too lazy for that

He probably wants to hear from those with actual experience with the blockchain. It would be nice after all to actually discuss with members from the forum who have learned and studied about bitcoin for a long time and has seen in real life how different factors has affected the network.

Per OP, maybe he is pertaining to transactions? It would be fitting since bitcoin just reached a new ath and maybe he is curious what will happen if too many people use bitcoin all at once. In that case, the answer is just higher fees so your transaction gets prioritized.

[luckyspirit]

I agree.

More worries are currently about how much the retailers, common people would possess BTC and their proportions to bigger entities in the long run in the eco.

However, that's too a question that would be developing over the years, if not decades to come..

There is no worry here. Bitcoin is divisible, 100M satoshi is 1 Bitcoin. You can buy a fraction and you are good to go. If it does become a problem, solutions will develop quite easily. You can issue other things and have them backed by Bitcoin at a fixed rate. Very easy.

[henry_of_skalitz]

There is no worry here. Bitcoin is divisible; 100M satoshi is 1 Bitcoin. You can buy a fraction and you are good to go. If it does become a problem, solutions will develop quite easily. You can issue other things and have them backed by Bitcoin at a fixed rate. Very easy.

I agree with the fact that BTC may be bought via smaller portions - however, I do think the case told here is about the overall amount of BTC in the hands of bigger entities against common retailers.

[Sanitough]

I have been thinking about this recently, what Will happen if Bitcoin network gets too big? Will there be any issues with it's speed or fees

The Bitcoin network is already massive, handling almost half a million transactions daily without major issues. There’s no need to worry about the system crashing, because this isn’t a centralized setup, it's decentralized. With thousands of miners distributed globally doing the work, the network stays secure and resilient. In short, downtime is highly unlikely.

I agree.

More worries are currently about how much the retailers, common people would possess BTC and their proportions to bigger entities in the long run in the eco.

However, that's too a question that would be developing over the years, if not decades to come..

The good thing is, we don't need to wait for the future just to see the market grow. The current situation alone where people already recognize Bitcoin as a good store of value is already a big deal. It helps keep the market stable. Realistically, we can't compete with fiat-based online payment systems in terms of speed and cost as they're cheaper and faster. Bitcoin, on its own network without a third party, can't really match that. But when it comes to value, we have the upper hand and that's exactly why demand will keep growing.

[betswift]

The good thing is, we don't need to wait for the future just to see the market grow. The current situation alone where people already recognize Bitcoin as a good store of value is already a big deal. It helps keep the market stable. Realistically, we can't compete with fiat-based online payment systems in terms of speed and cost as they're cheaper and faster. Bitcoin, on its own network without a third party, can't really match that. But when it comes to value, we have the upper hand and that's exactly why demand will keep growing.

Hm.

There is no denial in the growth of BTC, there is a question of how much of it would be in the hands of common people in the end.

Even if we can't affect it much because BTC is for everyone, it's still a thought to be had sometimes.

[BlackBoss_]

I have been thinking about this recently, what Will happen if Bitcoin network gets too big? Will there be any issues with it's speed or fees

It can cause network congestion, mempool overload and higher transaction fees but there are solutions like Bitcoin Lightning Network, and layer-2 solutions. When you are more knowledgeable and experienced, you can plan and choose good times to consolidate your small inputs with fee rate and also make your transactions on-chain with cheaper fee.

Bitcoin layer 2 resources.
Sidechain Observer - Bitcoin L2 Projects & current state of development.

[luckyspirit]

There is no worry here. Bitcoin is divisible; 100M satoshi is 1 Bitcoin. You can buy a fraction and you are good to go. If it does become a problem, solutions will develop quite easily. You can issue other things and have them backed by Bitcoin at a fixed rate. Very easy.

I agree with the fact that BTC may be bought via smaller portions - however, I do think the case told here is about the overall amount of BTC in the hands of bigger entities against common retailers.

There is no concern there either. That's exactly how the current world is laid out, and the world functions fine does it not? I am talking about fiat and wealth, most is concentrated in the hands of bigger entities. Why would it be a problem for Bitcoin if it is not a problem right now? 

[pooya87]

in terms of its speed and fees. Will there be any issues

Fees go up when there is a network congestion meaning when there are more transactions than there is block space. It is affected by the number of users not the size of the network. When you say network size it's more about number of nodes that participate in this peer-to-peer network. That has no effect on fees or speed.

[headingnorth]

There's no such thing as the bitcoin network "getting too big."
The bitcoin difficulty adjustment is designed to handle and adjust for that.

Individual exchanges can have problems if they don't have the capacity to handle
times when traffic is very high and you can have problems with your buy and sell orders going through.

Another problem are with some bitcoin devs trying to turn bitcoin into a shitcoin for
handling spam and NFT nonsense. These non-monetary transactions can crowd out
legit bitcoin transactions causing network fees to skyrocket.

That explains why node runners including myself are abandoning the Bitcoin Core node software
in droves and using Knots instead. I believe Core has been taken over by shitcoin devs which explains
why the number of Knots nodes has been exploding lately.

[Lembo69]

There will be no problem even if the Bitcoin network grows. But the investment will be more than the sale. And the traders who are there will buy at a low price and want to sell at a high price to increase their business. The Bitcoin miners who are there may not want to mine then because the price of Bitcoin will decrease. People like to buy more during the dip, but then it will always be a dip for them.

At the same time, Bitcoin is a well-known currency in crypto currency. And to destroy this currency, it can also be compared with Shitcoin. It can also be the opposite.

[betswift]

There will be no problem even if the Bitcoin network grows. But the investment will be more than the sale. And the traders who are there will buy at a low price and want to sell at a high price to increase their business. The Bitcoin miners who are there may not want to mine then because the price of Bitcoin will decrease. People like to buy more during the dip, but then it will always be a dip for them.

At the same time, Bitcoin is a well-known currency in crypto currency. And to destroy this currency, it can also be compared with Shitcoin. It can also be the opposite.

How would one - destroy - BTC?

I do think that it's not likely to happen - at all -, purely because BTC is not going for the profit or fame, but for being something true to itself and a real alternative.

[Mrbluntzy]

Nothing will happen if the network get too big and from what I observe, the network also keeps increasing every year, I don't think it's always the same number of transaction every year. I don't have too much knowledge about Bitcoin tech but with the little knowledge I have, what can slow Bitcoin transaction speed is when you pay a very low amount sat as fee, miners will select transactions with high fee and process them first before that of people with low fee, I read that somewhere. If transaction fee is normal, then speed will not be a problem.