Bitcoin blockchain has managed to stay resilient despite attacks. However, what is it, and how large is it?
What is Bitcoin Blockchain?
Bitcoin is among the cryptocurrencies that have been available in the market for a long. It has been here since its release in 2009 and proves to protect vital information. Moreover, it is famous for its market capitalization and price index.
Therefore, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency for digital trading. It uses blockchain, a list of records (blocks) that are linked using cryptography. This is its platform for all the money transactions involved. The technology is not only secure but also records money transactions and is open to everyone.
Bitcoin blockchain, therefore, is a database that contains all the money transactions and Bitcoin records that have been in place since the cryptocurrency was launched in 2009. The good thing is, the blockchain keeps growing and also ensures both security and verifiability.
How Large is the Bitcoin Blockchain?
Bitcoin has grown spontaneously since its entrance into the crypto market. Its blockchain size has also been increasing throughout the years. However, it wasn’t as big as it is now. This can be linked to the fact that a small number of individuals connected to the network.
For instance, in 2012, the Bitcoin blockchain size was 614MB. However, in the last two years, it managed to grow from 150-250GB. This implies that annually, there is a growth in size by 50GB. For example, on October 10, 2021, the Bitcoin blockchain size was 360.02 gigabytes.
If the size keeps growing, it is estimated that by 2030, it will be more than 1TB. Remember, there is a size limit, and Bitcoin has it at 1MB. However, since the limit has a portion of unusable space within it, you have to work with it as it is.
BTC Blockchain Size; Does It Matter?
Blockchain technology is widely embraced in cryptocurrency, and we can only expect it to keep growing as it provides solutions to blockchains. However, size and scalability are among the challenges it faces as it keeps growing.
Moreover, by January 2023, the ledger size of Bitcoin Blockchain could reach 6.5TB. This will imply that users will have to purchase harder disc space to participate in the network. The good news is, as time goes by, their prices will reduce, and you can get cheaper storage. This, however, will only be possible if the size at which the Bitcoin blockchain grows does not overpower the rate at which hard disc storage prices reduce.
Moreover, keeping in mind the potential growth of the Bitcoin blockchain size, there are high chances that the speed of transactions will be slower, which is an issue to be addressed. We can only hope that the large size has a high processing power to counteract this.
What to Worry About
The fact that Bitcoin blockchain size is spontaneously growing shouldn’t be a significant worry. The focus, however, should be on the speed of transactions and scalability.