Software Engineering Daily

Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are two cryptocurrencies with similar properties. But the supporters of each of these Bitcoin versions have strongly divergent opinions on the direction of the Bitcoin project. At the center of this debate is the subject of block size.

Bitcoin’s block size determines how many transactions fit into each block that is mined. A larger block size leads to faster transactions and lower fees, but creates higher demands on mining hardware. A smaller block size leads to a slower on-chain network and higher fees, but allows the full nodes on the network to be run on low performance hardware like Raspberry Pi.

Bitcoin Cash has a large block size. Bitcoin Core has a smaller block size. Proponents of the smaller block size argue that Bitcoin’s scaling can be achieved by the off-chain “lightning network” solution.

Roger Ver is a Bitcoin entrepreneur and investor. Since he discovered the currency, he has been buying it and evangelizing it. More recently, Roger has become an ardent supporter of Bitcoin Cash–emphasizing that Bitcoin Cash is Bitcoin.

In this episode, Roger describes his economic ideology, and explains why Bitcoin is so important to him. We explore how vested interests can shape the narrative and the direction of Bitcoin, and talk about the future of how corporations, governments, and individuals might be using cryptocurrencies.

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The TEALs program is looking for engineers from across the country to volunteer to teach computer science in high schools. Work with a computer science teacher in the classroom to bring development concepts to life through teamwork and determination. If you’d like to learn more about the Microsoft’s TEALs program or submit your volunteer application, go to tealsk12.org/sedaily.

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GoCD is a continuous delivery tool created by ThoughtWorks. GoCD agents use Kubernetes to scale as needed. Check out gocd.org/sedaily and learn about how you can get started. GoCD was built with the learnings of the ThoughtWorks engineering team, who have talked about building the product in previous episodes of Software Engineering Daily. It’s great to see the continued progress on GoCD with the new Kubernetes integrations–and you can check it out for yourself at gocd.org/sedaily.