The Importance of Bitcoin Network Fees and Running a Full Node

In a discussion involving two Bitcoin researchers, they emphasized the complexity of Bitcoin network fees and the challenges of managing transactions and block sizes.

Technical Director Jeffrey emphasized that using the term "Gas fee" to describe Bitcoin transaction fees is inaccurate, as Bitcoin's fees are based on transaction size, rather than being based on computational workload like Ethereum.

Researcher A Jian pointed out that the congestion and high network fees caused by BRC20 tokens on the Bitcoin network not only affect user experience but also lead to a significant increase in the UTXO set, which may bring uncertainty to the future development of the Bitcoin network.

Both researchers emphasized the importance of running a Full Node. Although running a Full Node may not have direct economic benefits, it plays a key role in maintaining network integrity, resisting censorship, and ensuring trustless verification of the blockchain. This is crucial for protecting individual financial privacy and the ability to trade freely.

They also discussed the differences between soft forks and hard forks in the Bitcoin network, as well as the role of miner voting in network upgrades. Examples like BIP 148 and the Segregated Witness upgrade illustrate the proactive role that Full Node operators can play in contentious upgrades.

Finally, the discussion reaffirmed the philosophical essence of Bitcoin. Unlike other cryptocurrencies that may cater to the concept of power, Bitcoin is designed to limit power in order to protect individual freedom, making its position in the cryptocurrency space more unique.