What does bitcoin want to be when it grows up? Another, cheaper global payment system—or a more political project that allows people to send each other money without the threat of government interference? These competing views of the digital currency have recently divided users, programmers and exchanges in the “bitcoin civil war”. A conference in Hong Kong, which ends today, has been laying the ground for a compromise. The chances of success are good: programmers and bitcoin firms now seem to agree on a set of changes to the currency’s technology, which would allow it to process more transactions—though not as many as some would like. And the question of how far and fast bitcoin should grow won’t go away. It currently supports only around seven transactions per second. Visa in America can handle 250 times as many. If it’s ever to get that big, bitcoin will need a thorough overhaul.