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As Bitcoin's popularity grew, so did its capacity constraints, leading to heated debates over block size limits. The introduction of the 1 MB limit by core developers engendered a schism between “big blockers”—who advocate for larger transaction capacities—versus “small blockers”—who argue this dilution threatens Bitcoin's decentralization. This conflict perpetuated a cycle of increased transaction fees and slower processing times, calling into question Bitcoin's potential as a mass-market digital cash system.
The advent of off-chain transactions, a solution that many developers proposed, starkly contradicted Satoshi's vision of facilitating small casual transactions directly on the blockchain, further muddying the waters regarding Bitcoin's true purpose.