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What is the actual weight of the Bitcoin Blockchain?
When understanding the scale of the Bitcoin blockchain, many people wonder: what is the actual weight of this massive digital ledger?
The answer lies in a few different places. Several websites, including YCharts and Blockchain.com, allow users to view the current size of the Bitcoin blockchain. Both sources report an increasing size that has been steadily increasing over time.
A few different numbers
According to YCharts, the estimated total hash power (THP) of the Bitcoin network as of March 2023 is approximately 225 exahashes (EH/s). This number represents the combined computing power of all Bitcoin miners in the world. The estimated total number of blocks in the blockchain is currently around 1 million.
A more detailed breakdown of the size of the blockchain can be found on Blockchain.com. According to their data, the estimated total size of the Bitcoin blockchain as of March 2023 is around 4.5 exabytes (EB) or 450 gigabytes (GB). This number represents the total amount of memory used on the blockchain.
Breaking down the numbers
To put these numbers into perspective, one exabyte is equal to 1 billion GB. So the estimated size of the Bitcoin blockchain is roughly 4.5 EB or 450 GB per block.
The weight of the blockchain can also be calculated by considering the total storage capacity. Estimates from various sources indicate that a single byte (the standard unit of digital information) is approximately 8.64 MB (megabyte). Therefore, the estimated size of the Bitcoin blockchain in megabytes is approximately:
450 GB/block x 1 EB / 1024^3 (to convert bytes to megabytes) = approximately 10.2 billion MB
A massive digital ledger
To put these numbers into a more understandable context, it is essential to consider that the estimated size of the Bitcoin blockchain is roughly equivalent to:
- The contents of about 100,000 average-sized laptops
- The total storage capacity of about 200 billion DVDs
- The combined memory of over 2 million desktop computers
The sheer size of the Bitcoin blockchain is truly staggering. As more people and organizations join the network, our understanding of the size of the network is likely to continue to grow.
Conclusion
In summary, while we may not have an exact figure for the actual weight of the Bitcoin blockchain, our current estimates based on current data suggest that it is roughly 450 GB or 10.2 billion MB per block. The size and complexity of this massive digital ledger is constantly growing as more people and organizations participate in the network.