There is a common misconception that has really always persisted in the blockchain space, especially with bitcoin early on. One of the large selling points for those looking to use bitcoin in the early days was the idea that transactions were basically free, an idea that was ultimately pushed through for much longer than it should have. Even today we see new altcoins claiming free transactions, when in reality, with any success, the truth will be vastly different.

<center>http://rishigangoly.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Free-PNG-Clipart.png</center>

Once bitcoin saw adoption at higher levels and the mempool began to experience times of congestion, the reality of transaction fees became very apparent. Some people adapted but many others also started to feel disenfranchised with the protocol, feeling like they had been lied to from the beginning. The problem was the narrative of free transactions was carried for way too long and many people in the space today still are under the assumption that blockchains are free.

If the title of the article didn’t give away the premise, well here it is, blockchains are not free and there will never be a blockchain that will be completely free to use. Why not? Simply put, the demand for free data is near infinite compared to the computers in the world that could actually store the data. Many times blockchains are not efficient in terms of cost, they offer a trade off between cost and security which is why you would use a blockchain compared to a simple database.

<center>http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch-milton-friedman-66264.jpg</center>

Even if a blockchain allowed infinite free data to be stored on it, the demand would far outweigh the supply. There is a reason why companies like dropbox only offer a certain amount of free storage to people and its because the second you allow unlimited free storage to anyone everywhere, you start getting people pivoting businesses to capitalize on that free storage. Why pay a company to host data when they could host it for completely free? This is exactly what companies will end up doing.

Certain blockchains might be free for a while, but in general blockchains are not free and the utility and security they offer is something that needs to be paid for. Once real demand and usability comes to the specific blockchain, you will see how easy it is to clog up the chain with all types of transactions. Satoshi Dice, one of the first notable dice games in bitcoin for a long period of time literally would send a transaction with a single satoshi saying whether or not you won or lost. Ethereum claimed they were near free until the ICO market came and transactions got stuck for hours with people trying to get in their transactions. Free never lasts when there is an inherent cost to block chain technology.


<center>http://i.imgur.com/4u1EC27.png</center>
Thanks to @Elyaque for the badges