<blockquote>
<p>Why the size of the block 656143 is so big (Size: 2,337,727 bytes), taking into account a relatively small number of transactions (Number of Transactions: 84)?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It contains a number of transactions which are substantially larger than average (it is spending a very large number of outputs, legacy P2SH multisig scripts), so an assumption based on the average size of transactions does not hold.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/YMVeB.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/YMVeB.png" alt="duh?" /></a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>However, the size of the block 656143 is ~2.3Mb; therefore, a &quot;more realistic maximum&quot; is not that realistic :)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The quote refers to the assumed average size, not including obvious outliers like this.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-03T22:44:41.973Z
Shouldn't it be "inputs" instead of outputs in a "very large number of outputs"?
Remis
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-03T22:46:17.307Z
Possibly! The nomenclature in Bitcoin is always a little strained, in this case the transaction is spending a large number of outputs (UTXO entries), which are the inputs to the transaction I showed in the screenshot.
Claris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-03T20:39:36.943Z
2020-12-03T22:46:46.327Z
2020-12-03T22:46:46.327Z
Claris
<p>Why the size of the block <a href="https://www.blockchain.com/btc/block/656143" rel="nofollow noreferrer">656143</a> is so big (<code>Size</code>: <strong>2,337,727</strong> bytes), taking into account a relatively small number of transactions (<code>Number of Transactions</code>: <strong>84</strong>)?</p>
<p><strong>Extra question</strong>: What is the block size limit in Bitcoin nowadays?
I found some guidelines <a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/what-is-bitcoin/what-is-the-bitcoin-block-size-limit" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Bitcoin blocks now have a theoretical maximum size of 4 megabytes and a more realistic maximum size of 2 megabytes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, the size of the block <a href="https://www.blockchain.com/btc/block/656143" rel="nofollow noreferrer">656143</a> is ~2.3Mb; therefore, a &quot;more realistic maximum&quot; is not that realistic :)</p>

<segregated-witness><blocksize><block-weight>
Why is the block size so big, taking into account a relatively small number of transactions?
Remis
# Why is the block size so big, taking into account a relatively small number of transactions?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-03)

Why the size of the block [656143](https://www.blockchain.com/btc/block/656143) is so big (`Size`: **2,337,727** bytes), taking into account a relatively small number of transactions (`Number of Transactions`: **84**)?

**Extra question**: What is the block size limit in Bitcoin nowadays?
I found some guidelines [here](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/what-is-bitcoin/what-is-the-bitcoin-block-size-limit):

> Bitcoin blocks now have a theoretical maximum size of 4 megabytes and a more realistic maximum size of 2 megabytes.

However, the size of the block [656143](https://www.blockchain.com/btc/block/656143) is ~2.3Mb; therefore, a "more realistic maximum" is not that realistic :)

**Tags:** segregated-witness, blocksize, block-weight


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-12-03. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

> Why the size of the block 656143 is so big (Size: 2,337,727 bytes), taking into account a relatively small number of transactions (Number of Transactions: 84)?

It contains a number of transactions which are substantially larger than average (it is spending a very large number of outputs, legacy P2SH multisig scripts), so an assumption based on the average size of transactions does not hold.

[![duh?](https://i.sstatic.net/YMVeB.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/YMVeB.png)

> However, the size of the block 656143 is ~2.3Mb; therefore, a "more realistic maximum" is not that realistic :)

The quote refers to the assumed average size, not including obvious outliers like this.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Shouldn't it be "inputs" instead of outputs in a "very large number of outputs"?  
> **username_1**: Possibly! The nomenclature in Bitcoin is always a little strained, in this case the transaction is spending a large number of outputs (UTXO entries), which are the inputs to the transaction I showed in the screenshot.  

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