NodeCounter.com, a site tracking Bitcoin nodes and in particular those of potential forks, has posted a note calling on users to abandon Bitcoin for other cryptocurrencies over issues surrounding the block size limit.
The site, mainly used to track the rate of Bitcoin blocks mined versus those of a fork with an increased block size limit, had previously posted a public notice on the importance of raising the block size limit for the good of Bitcoin’s infrastructure. Its criticisms of Bitcoin’s current state include slower transaction confirmation times, increased fees, and a lack of long-term scalability.
In a public notice posted on the front of the page, NodeCounter calls on viewers to support an alternative currency more in line with Satoshi’s original vision, making allusions to alternative cryptocurrencies eerily reminiscent of Dash:
“By supporting another cryptocurrency, you are supporting the features and development team you want. Money speaks louder than words, especially in a censored environment. Let your money tell the market what you want. There are currently cryptocurrencies which perform better than Bitcoin, have more features than Bitcoin, have a more receptive and open development team than Bitcoin, and have a better upgrade path than Bitcoin. The single and only remaining quality that Bitcoin has over these other cryptocurrencies is first-mover advantage. In every other category Bitcoin is second.”
Attempts to Fork Bitcoin And Raise The Block Size Limit Have Ultimately Failed
While the block size limit debate has dominated discourse in the Bitcoin community for quite some time now, concerted efforts to resolve it have failed. The main discussion point for Bitcoin on Reddit, the /r/Bitcoin subreddit, lost a share of subscribers to a splinter group favoring an increased block size, the /r/BTC subreddit. Members of /r/BTC claim censorship in /r/Bitcoin on any topic that paints Bitcoin’s core developers in a bad light, including talk of high transaction fees, large mempool of unprocessed transactions, and slow confirmation times.
Faced with Bitcoin core’s unwillingness to raise the block size limit, several attempts to fork Bitcoin were initiated, the latest major of which was Bitcoin Classic. At its peak, Classic nodes managed to mine 7% of all blocks in late March. Since then, however, that number has fallen by more than half as Classic has effectively lost momentum. This outcome is likely behind NodeCounter’s decision to call for the support of other cryptocurrencies.
Dash Is A Top-tier Contender For The “Next Bitcoin”
Among the best-poised to take Bitcoin’s place should it fall is Dash. Unlike many of the other top cryptocurrencies, Dash has a focus on efficiency of use as money, boasting fast confirmation times, and the ability to confirm transactions instantly. Unlike Bitcoin, Dash has both a masternode system of stakeholders making decisions on how the network is run and treasury for funding development on the network, greatly incentivizing a currency that is run efficiently.
Currently, Bitcoin commands the vast majority not only in market share, but in adoption, meaning that Dash’s competitive advantage is effectively meaningless if no one can use it for day-to-day transactions. In order to push this competitive advantage and close the adoption gap, the Dash to Adoption project aims to convince as many businesses as possible to take the currency. The goal is to add an additional 100 businesses to the family of Dash-accepting businesses over 100 days, ending on December 24th, Christmas Eve.
