Blockstream’s Samson Mow suggests shifting the discussion away from Bitcoin’s (BTC) ability to process transactions, reflected by the measure Transactions per Second, to its ability in providing a in “a new financial paradigm,” that is facilitating as a permissionless medium for storing and transferring value.
Mow’s justification is that “VPTS [value transacted per second] not TPS [transaction per second]” is what really matters. Computations for the video were supposedly done utilizing on-chain info by the administrator of the Blockstream tech blog, who uses nickname “Grubles” on Twitter. The blog sites administrator tweeted that “Bitcoin scales just fine. 1 BTC can store an infinite amount of value.”
The video as per a subsequent tweet from Mow, “was inspired by a stupid XRP marketing video comparing their sh*tcoin’s TPS [transaction per second] to Bitcoin’s.”
Data provided by Blockchain.com indicates that the aggregate assessed value of transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain was valued at $4.627 billion. The figure reached $5.15 billion, nearing its historical high on November 5.
#Bitcoin moves nearly half a million dollars in value around the globe permissionlessly every second. It was never about transactions per second and coffee. It’s all about value transacted per second and a new financial paradigm. #VTPS not #TPS. Nothing comes close to @BTC. ? pic.twitter.com/aXfDauPx9b
— Samson Mow (@Excellion) December 2, 2020
For a while now, TPS has been putforward as a supposed Achilles heel for Bitcoin, with its transaction handling ability considerably lower than altcoins such as Ether (ETH). This is used to promote Bitcoin Cash (BCH) by crypto advocates such as Roger Ver. With higher transaction processing ability, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), according to Roger Ver, is better suited for small retail transactions.
Mow’s opinion on Bitcoin has been steady, suggesting the use of second-layer solutions such as Lightning Network for day-to-day transactions. Bitcoin, basically, has a totally different use:
“It’s more of a store of value and a medium of wealth transfer. It’s not something you would use every day in payments. I’ve said this before, and people have twisted around and said I hate Bitcoin, but Bitcoin is bad for payments.”
