Scalability
This problem has been a focus of intense debate, rigorous research, and media attention for the last few years.
This is the single most important problem in blockchain, which could mean the difference between the wider adaptability of blockchains or limited private use only by consortiums. As a result of substantial research in this area, many solutions have been proposed, which are discussed in the following section.
From a theoretical perspective, the general approach toward tackling the scalability issue generally revolves around protocol-level enhancements. For example, a commonly mentioned solution to Bitcoin scalability is to increase its block size. This would mean that a larger number of transactions can be batched in a block, resulting in increasing scalability.
We discussed block size increase and other relevant blockchain solutions in more detail in Chapter 9, Alternative Coins.
Other proposals include solutions that...