user1934: 
Possible Duplicate:
Are there any studies into the size of the blockchain scaling over time? 

Hi folks, I have a theoretical question. Since the blockchain stores all bitcoin transactions, does this mean that it is ever-increasing and will never, ever stop gobbling up disk space?
Cheers!

user575: The short answer is that old, spent transactions can be pruned, meaning the part of the blockchain that has to be stored to run a node doesn't have to grow forever.

user85: No. If a car is heading North on a highway that ends in five miles, will it run off the end of the road? Of course not.
A car going North on a highway now will not go North on a highway forever. The driver will turn the steering wheel before it runs off the end.
To get a "yes" answer, you have to assume the car has no driver. But then you're asking a question about an absurd hypothetical where a car speeds down a highway with no driver.

user323: Yes, the blockchain itself will keep increasing forever. On the other hand, one does not need to store the entire blockchain to use Bitcoin. It is possible that later version of Bitcoin will start pruning old, spent transactions to keep local disc storage smaller.

1934: <blockquote>
  <p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
  <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/2798/are-there-any-studies-into-the-size-of-the-blockchain-scaling-over-time">Are there any studies into the size of the blockchain scaling over time?</a>  </p>
</blockquote>



<p>Hi folks, I have a theoretical question. Since the blockchain stores all bitcoin transactions, does this mean that it is ever-increasing and will never, ever stop gobbling up disk space?</p>

<p>Cheers!</p>
 575: <p>The short answer is that old, spent transactions can be pruned, meaning the part of the blockchain that has to be stored to run a node doesn't have to grow forever.</p>
 85: <p>No. If a car is heading North on a highway that ends in five miles, will it run off the end of the road? Of course not.</p>

<p>A car going North on a highway now will not go North on a highway forever. The driver will turn the steering wheel before it runs off the end.</p>

<p>To get a "yes" answer, you have to assume the car has no driver. But then you're asking a question about an absurd hypothetical where a car speeds down a highway with no driver.</p>
 323: <p>Yes, the blockchain itself will keep increasing forever. On the other hand, one does not need to store the entire blockchain to use Bitcoin. It is possible that later version of Bitcoin will start pruning old, spent transactions to keep local disc storage smaller.</p>
