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Blockchain is revolutionizing the world around us. It changes the definition of the process, storing data, brings immutability, transparency, and has the best security that technology had so far.
How does the blockchain work?
Blockchain is a new system that has a unique way of decentralization. It stores any kind of data exchange on the platform, so every data exchange has a spot in the log. The data exchange in the system is called a transaction.
When a transaction is verified, it gets a place in the system as a block and once it’s on the ledger, nobody can alter it or delete it.
Blockchain uses a peer-to-peer distributed network and ensures the decentralization of the technology. Each device connected to the network is called a node and every user on the network generates key pairs known as private and public keys. Using those keys gets you a unique credential that no one can access. Therefore, the key needs to be stored in a safe place.
The process starts with a node or a user that initiates a transaction signing it with their private key, which creates a unique signature no one can alter.
Then, the transaction gets broadcasted to the verifying nodes to see if it’s valid or not.
Once the nodes verify the authenticity of the transaction, it gets a place in the ledger.
The block then links up to the previous block, and the new block will form a link with the next one, forming a blockchain.
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Blockchain size limit
For the past two years, blockchain LEDGER size has increased from 150 to 250 GB, which is almost 50 GB per year. Prediction says that the ledger size will cross more than 1 TB until the year 2030.
Some nodes are called full nodes and they are required for those who want to participate in the validation of the ongoing transactions (some participants take part to make transactions only and not to validate them). Full nodes require participants to download the whole 250 GB of blockchain data.
For example, the bitcoin blockchain size limit is 1 MB, but some of the space within is not usable, so you’ll have to work with the size limit as it is. The ledger size of Ethereum has an even bigger problem, as it’s growing at 3 times compared to bitcoin.
The point is, the size of the blockchain matters – as blockchain is getting bigger each day and some of them require participants to download the entire chain, and with a maximum size of 250 GB that can be an issue.
Also, blockchain is capable of generating one block every 10 minutes, which means that every 10 minutes, an additional 2.4 TB of data can be added to the blockchain size.
When doing the math, it becomes clear that adding 127 TB every year means there is no ledger limit.
The fact that blockchain size increases exponentially means that it will take more time for miners to solve a new block, which will result in slower transactions.
