&gt; The end goal is to prevent only having large institutions running nodes and to keep the system more decentralized, hence the need for better scaling options. (Bitcoin has become more decentralized as it has aged, with fewer small nodes running)<p>Right, but that wasn&#x27;t the question I raised. I asked what does Ethereum do <i>different</i> than Bitcoin that makes its blockchain more scaleable? The answer is, of course, <i>nothing</i>. If merge-mined sidechains and overlay protocols are your solution, Bitcoin is non-stop innovating in that direction.<p>&gt; It&#x27;s not useful, in my opinion, to just throw up your hands and say &quot;It can never scale!!&quot;.<p>But if you&#x27;re just going to throw up your hands and say &quot;put it in the cloud&quot;, that&#x27;s no different than what Bitcoin bigblockists want to do.