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.
According to one source, the Ethereum blockchain has bloated by +700% in the past 12 months: now about 180 GB. https://t.co/wKVqyqy6G7 pic.twitter.com/XfH5He4gRL
— Tuur Demeester (@TuurDemeester) June 12, 2017
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.
Based on that, the chain is projected to be over 1Tb in less than 12 months. If it continues that growth rate it'll die; space = $$$$
— David Keenleyside (@Nuke_Bloodaxe) June 12, 2017
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.