The Blockchain

[bitcoinbot]

I use Bitcoin Core, mainly because I didn't realise there was an alternative and I am probably too stupid (and old) to  use something like Electrum or Multibit.

Anyway, I hear that the blockchain is now 22GB and growing daily and takes around a full day to download. Why the hell would any new user use Bitcoin Core or bother to download the blockchain if it's not required and the big question:

What would happen if every single Bitcoin user switched from downloading the blockchain to software like Multibit?

[JohnnyBTC]

multibit is great but stay away from electrum.  electrum is known for crashing a lot and being extremely slow

[corebob]

The miners keep a full chain and I believe they would keep the network functional, that said, I believe full nodes help a lot in making the network more efficient at validating transactions and securing a strong majority, which is key.

I also believe solutions has been proposed that will allow people to participate without having the entire block chain, it just hasn't been a priority.

[shorena]

I use Bitcoin Core, mainly because I didn't realise there was an alternative and I am probably too stupid (and old) to  use something like Electrum or Multibit.

Anyway, I hear that the blockchain is now 22GB and growing daily and takes around a full day to download. Why the hell would any new user use Bitcoin Core or bother to download the blockchain if it's not required and the big question:

I dont know about new users, I run full nodes (a bad one at home and a proper one on a VPS) to support the network.

What would happen if every single Bitcoin user switched from downloading the blockchain to software like Multibit?

Bitcoin can not work if every single person is using Multibit. Multibit needs full nodes to work, Miners are full nodes and big companies are advised to run full nodes (yes plural) to be able to judge transaction propagation.
The idea is actually in the original paper by Satoshi [1]


[1] https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Thin_Client_Security#Header-Only_Clients

[2double0]

Most new users open web wallets which act as a main centralised point (the full blockchain is downloaded on their own servers, once for all users)

[countryfree]

I uninstalled Bitcoin core more than a year ago, and I didn't like much Multibit. I've been using online wallets at blockchain.info for about 18 months, and I'm very satisfied with it. I don't worry about the blockchain because I know all the miners, and all the shop owners, the people doing real business with BTC have the blockchain on their computers. They just have no other choice as they need to see their transactions confirmed.

[Skoupi]

What would happen if every single Bitcoin user switched from downloading the blockchain to software like Multibit?

Bitcoin businesses have the biggest interest in securing the network and that's what they 'll do by running most of the bitcoin nodes.
Light spv clients was the plan all along for the vast majority of users.

[QuestionAuthority]

What would happen if every single Bitcoin user switched from downloading the blockchain to software like Multibit?

Bitcoin businesses have the biggest interest in securing the network and that's what they 'll do by running most of the bitcoin nodes.
Light spv clients was the plan all along for the vast majority of users.

That's the future. Businesses will do the heavy work of security and users will have some version of streamlined wallet on a portable device. Kind of like how current debit cards work. You hold the card and the machine you slide them in is controlled by a business.

[scarsbergholden]

What would happen if every single Bitcoin user switched from downloading the blockchain to software like Multibit?

Bitcoin businesses have the biggest interest in securing the network and that's what they 'll do by running most of the bitcoin nodes.
Light spv clients was the plan all along for the vast majority of users.

This is probably true. Businesses that accept bitcoin (especially businesses that deal in large amounts of bitcoin) will want to "invest" in well connected nodes so TXs to and from their business can be well propagated and will confirm quickly.

As the blockchain gets larger and more TXs start to appear on the network, the cost of running a node will increase which will decrease the incentives for people to run nodes at home