Last week, executives from major Bitcoin firms put their names on a document backing larger block sizes and Gavin Andresen's BIP 101 proposal. BitPay's top payment officer Stephen Pair was among the s
Last week, executives from major Bitcoin firms put their names on a document backing larger block sizes and Gavin Andresen's BIP 101 proposal. BitPay's top payment officer Stephen Pair was among the signatories, yet in a new TechCrunch conversation, the firm's Chief Commercial Officer Sonny Singh revealed BitPay remains flexible about which technical path forward to choose. Singh indicated the payments company would equally welcome Jeff Garzik's competing BIP 100 framework.
The Block Size Conversation Heats Up
Host Alex Wilhelm steered the discussion toward Bitcoin's ongoing block size controversy midway through his TechCrunch interview with Singh. When Wilhelm referenced BitPay's public backing of BIP 101 and expanded blocks, Singh walked that back somewhat, explaining the organization's true priority has little to do with any specific proposal: "Frankly, we're agnostic about the particular number. The important thing is that it goes up." A week prior, observers had assumed the corporate letter advocating for BIP 101 was simultaneously an endorsement of Bitcoin XT, yet the alternative client never appeared in the document's language. The letter essentially represented industry agreement on bigger blocks rather than backing one specific implementation.
Miners Rally Behind the Alternative
Though BIP 101 held the community's favor just days before, Garzik's BIP 100 now commands strong support among network miners. While some technicians have flagged concerns about the proposal's design, BitPay appears comfortable with its underpinnings. Singh explained the company's stance during the interview: "Jeff Garzik works here at BitPay. He developed that proposal, so we're supportive of it as well." The proposals differ fundamentally in their approach: BIP 100 grants mining pools the ability to vote on raising or lowering the cap, while BIP 101 follows a fixed mathematical schedule. This certainty is precisely why Gavin Andresen, Bitcoin Foundation's Chief Scientist, champions BIP 101 over Garzik's design.
Bigger Blocks—Not Urgent
Singh's remarks throughout the conversation carried a measured, unworried tone regarding block expansion. Despite intense debate raging across Bitcoin's community following Bitcoin XT's rollout, BitPay's leadership seems calmer about timelines. Singh even went so far as to minimize the issue's immediacy: "What matters is that we see it increased at some level; frankly, we don't think it's an emergency right now. The blockchain network has substantial capacity remaining. We could easily see transaction volumes climb several times over without hitting walls today." Singh also voiced support for the upcoming Scaling Bitcoin forum taking place in Montreal, hoping the gathering might produce workable middle ground. Bitcoin XT's primary developer Mike Hearn, however, will skip the event—he's previously voiced skepticism about whether such conferences translate into code that actually ships.
