Ethereum’s (ETH) blockchain is now larger than Bitcoin’s at around 180 gigabytes, with experts warning further increases may spell disaster.
After one user reported downloading the backlog of transactions for “over a week” while syncing a node, cryptocurrency commentator and entrepreneur Tuur Demeester highlighted a source giving an overall figure of up to 180 GB.
Tuur Demeester @TuurDemeester
Blockchain bloat is one of Ethereum's challenges. Encouraging fast sync undermines decentralization, so that solution is likely inadequate. pic.twitter.com/gWtZQL5eiE
Tuur Demeester @TuurDemeester
According to one source, the Ethereum blockchain has bloated by +700% in the past 12 months: now about 180 GB. http://bc.daniel.net.nz pic.twitter.com/XfH5He4gRL
Ethereum overtook Bitcoin sometime in February 2017, according to the source data, when both were around 130 GB.
Further Twitter commentators added that the problem of so-called ‘Blockchain bloat’ would be “compounded” by the fact that the relative free-for-all on Ethereum-linked wallets meant that many users had a considerable number of them.
A huge range of altcoins are based on the Ethereum blockchain, many of which continue to see frantic trading activity with the completion of various ICOs.
What the future holds for ETH itself meanwhile poses further issues.
Continued upward trajectory could see the biggest altcoin’s blockchain hit one terabyte before 2018, making syncing a seriously unwieldy business.
ETH prices meanwhile hit new highs over the weekend, capping a 3000% increase since the start of the year which is doing the rounds across mainstream media.