Book Club Series: The Blocksize War (Austin Software Cooperatives)

## Book Club Series: The Blocksize War (Austin Software Cooperatives)

We’re kicking off a multi‑part reading group on The Blocksize War—a narrative of the 2015–2017 fight over Bitcoin’s blocksize and the deeper question of who gets to change rules in a decentralized system. We’ll use the story as a springboard to explore protocol governance, incentives, credible commitment, soft‑ vs hard‑fork dynamics, user coordination (UASF), and “exit vs. voice”—with applied takeaways for cooperative organizations.

> Focus: governance lessons, not price or trading.

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### What we’ll cover

• Who governs a system with no boss? Nodes, miners, devs, exchanges, users—and what “consensus” really means.
• Mechanism design & change control: Soft forks vs. hard forks, signaling, activation thresholds, the role of credible exit.
• Power and legitimacy: Why “coalitions” (e.g., NYA) aren’t the same as consensus; why simple rules beat back‑room deals.
• Operational tradeoffs: Throughput vs. decentralization; client diversity; backward compatibility.
• Co‑op parallels: Consent‑based changes, transparency rituals, and how to avoid “Fiat” control returning through process complexity.

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### Schedule (First Wednesdays)

• Session 1 — Wed, Nov 5, 2025 Origins & Fault Lines (2009–2015): Throughput vs. decentralization; early “big‑block” proposals; why blocksize became a governance lever.
• Session 2 — Wed, Dec 3, 2025 2016: The Great Schism: SegWit design goals, miner signaling, exchanges, and “agreements” vs. actual consensus.
• Session 3 — Wed, Jan 7, 2026 2017: UASF to Resolution: BIP‑level coordination, user activation, SegWit2x’s collapse, and the BCH split—lessons on credible commitment and collective action.
• Session 4 — Wed, Feb 4, 2026 Aftermath & Lessons for Co‑ops: What decentralized governance got right and wrong; translating principles into cooperative bylaws, comp, and decision rights.

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### Who should attend

Engineers, product folks, co‑op builders, protocol‑curious organizers, and anyone interested in change management without a traditional hierarchy.

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### Prep

• Get a copy of The Blocksize War (any edition).
• Session 1 reading: Preface + early chapters on scaling debates and blocksize proposals.
• Bring 1–2 questions you want answered about decentralized change control (e.g., “How do we prevent a tiny group from pushing risky changes?”).

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### Details

• When: First Wednesday of the month starting Nov 5, 2025, 7:00–8:15 PM Central (CT)
• Where: Zoom (link sent to RSVPs day‑of) or in‑person if announced
• Code of conduct: Be civil; critique ideas, not people. No investment advice.

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### Why this matters for co‑ops

The blocksize saga is a rare, well‑documented case of large‑scale, boss‑less coordination under pressure. It shows how clear rules, credible user action, and transparent signaling can beat power plays—insight you can apply to bylaws, compensation changes, product governance, and member rights in your cooperative.

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RSVP to save your seat. Questions you want covered? Drop them in the event comments so we can prioritize them.