What is a viable option besides Segwit?
One thing for sure is that we can't keep going with the current system forever.
Well the problem with core is that they ignored BIP100 that offered bigger blocks, and had 70% pool approval before it even went to a proper vote.
The problem with BIP100 was that core didn't want it - it doesn't fit in with their personal "possible" financial gains running LN and centralising bitcoin more than they try to centralise it already.
If bitcoin wasn't centralised, then there would be multiple options in core at the moment to vote for blocksize changes.
Bitcoin already inherently handles 32MB blocks, it's mainly just a number defined in the code that limits it to 1MB.
SegWit in it's current form is simply core trying to fix the fuckups they made with P2SH, but it allows for other things ...
... and they can tout it as a block size solution, which is only a side effect of ignoring the extra data.
Meanwhile, I wrote the OP almost a year ago
There's still the rather amusing size issue that even core devs don't seem to understand.
A second storage of data requires a second storage of key information of that data.
Simple to understand for anyone with an inkling of an understanding of databases.
... and core segwit means that using standard 1x addresses will cost 4 times using P2SH addresses ... i.e. push everyone onto the problematic core P2SH addresses ...