Support the show, consider donating:

BTC: 1KgnEbgUAtpmBBNKGhR7JroJBoMvEpJ5GZ (http://bit.ly/2pmi6ky)

ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2nKneP1)

Years into the great Bitcoin scaling debate no solution is in reach. Neither bigger blocks nor Segregated Witness have anywhere near consensus support. With the conflict escalating, a Bitcoin fork has become a real possibility.

Electrum Developer Thomas Voegtlin joined us to discuss the state of the Bitcoin scaling debate. We discussed Bitcoin Unlimited, ASICBoost, SegWit activation without miner support and how a Bitcoin fork could play out. Possible outcomes include that Bitcoin Unlimited gains a majority of hashing power and starts mining bigger blocks. In the event of a fork, a proof-of-work change could be done to defend the minority chain from miner attacks. And lately a proposal was brought forward to activate SegWit without the support of the hashing power.

Topics discussed in this episode:

- ASICBoost and its potential role in the conflict

- How a Bitcoin fork could happen

- How to split coins in case of a fork

- How UASF could be used to activate SegWit without miner support

- Requirements for UASF to be safe

- How Electrum would handle a fork

Links mentioned in this episode:

- Electrum Bitcoin Wallet: https://electrum.org/#home

- ASICBoost – Hacker Noon: https://medium.com/@samcole_74219/asicboost-655a73d48ae4

- Bitcoin's New Controversy: The AsicBoost Allegations Explained - CoinDesk: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoins-new-controversy-asicboost-allegations-explained/

- Timo Hanke on ASICBoost and SegWit Non-Activation: https://twitter.com/timothanke/status/849896505653706753

- From AsicBoost to UASF: Greg Maxwell on Bitcoin's Path Forward - CoinDesk: http://www.coindesk.com/asicboost-uasf-greg-maxwell-bitcoins-path-forward/

- [bitcoin-dev] Thomas Voegtlin: Soft Fork Threshold Signaling Proposal: https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2017-April/014146.html

- UASF Working Group: http://www.uasf.co/

- [bitcoin-dev] Greg Maxwell: I do not support the BIP 148 UASF: https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2017-April/014152.html

- Thomas Voegtlin: Electrum, SPV Wallets And Bitcoin Aliases — Epicenter: https://epicenter.tv/episode/069/

Sponsors:

- Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices - http://jaxx.io

This episode is also available on :

- Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/179

- YouTube: http://youtu.be/18QdbsSo8T8

- Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-179

Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.