Explains: Miners, Nodes, and the War That Settled Everything

About this episode

This episode discusses the Blocksize War and the critical role of node operators in Bitcoin's governance.

Send us Fan Mail Bitcoin Well Explains: Nodes and Governance In 2017, the biggest mining pools, major exchanges, and venture capital firms signed an agreement to change Bitcoin's rules by force. They controlled over 80% of the network's computing power. They lost. Completely. Embarrassingly. This is the story of the Blocksize War — and the quiet, underappreciated participants who won it: the node operators. In this video you'll learn: What Bitcoin nodes actually are and why they matter Why miners propose but nodes dispose How anyone can run a node on a $100 Raspberry Pi Why Satoshi deliberately kept blocks small What happened at the New York Agreement How UASF — the User Activated Soft Fork — defeated a corporate takeover Why Bitcoin Cash lost 99% of its value against Bitcoin How Bitcoin's three-way balance of power makes it ungovernable by any single group No boardroom can rewrite Bitcoin's rules. The Blocksize War proved it. Chapters: 0:00 – Intro: Welcome & schedule update 0:54 – The Adam O'Brien Show announcement 1:38 – Today's topic: Bitcoin governance & the Block Size Wars 2:02 – Can miners rewrite Bitcoin's rules? 2:52 – Meet the node operators: Bitcoin's unsung referees…

People in this episode

Host: Bitcoin Well

Topics covered

• Bitcoin governance
• Blocksize War
• mining
• nodes
• network power
• open-source development

Keywords

• Bitcoin
• mining pools
• node operators
• User Activated Soft Fork
• network congestion
• open-source software
• Bitcoin Cash
• New York Agreement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bitcoin Cash, New York Agreement, UASF

More episodes of Bitcoin Well Podcast

• Reads - What Gives Money Its Value? (And What Actually Backs Bitcoin) · June 6, 2026 · 12 min
• Reads: What The Unbanked Know That Everyone Are Starting to Figure Out · May 31, 2026 · 11 min
• Explains: How to Actually Use a Hardware Wallet · May 29, 2026 · 20 min
• Reads: Bitcoin: The Next Chapter of Humanity · May 23, 2026 · 15 min
• Why Don't New Bitcoiners Self-Custody? Roberto Rios, Simply Bitcoin, and Kyle Huber Explain | Bitcoin Well Spaces · May 21, 2026 · 1h 29m
• Reads: The Great Decoupling: Luther, Satoshi, and the New Reformation of Money · May 17, 2026 · 12 min