On Thursday, a lawsuit was filed in Florida’s Southern District against a group of cryptocurrency heavyweights alleging intentional fraud and market manipulation surrounding the recent Bitcoin Cash BCH update.
The civil suit filed by United American Corp. against multiple Bitmain related companies, Bitcoin.com, Roger Ver, Jihan Wu, Kraken, Jesse Powell, Amaury Sechet, Shammah Chancellor and Jason Cox alleges the group was involved in a scheme to manipulate the cryptocurrency market for Bitcoin Cash in an effort to highjack the Bitcoin Cash network, resulting in a global capital meltdown of more than $4 billion and causing countless people irreparable harm.
Breaking News: Lawsuit links Bitmain, Ver camp to ‘premeditated takeover’ of Bitcoin Cash network
Some of the names are well known to the Bitcoin community while others have been background players. Let’s have a look at the who’s who in this landmark cryptocurrency lawsuit.
Bitmain Inc. – More commonly known as Bitcoin US, Bitcoin Inc. is an American corporation wholly owned by Bitmain Technologies Holding Company. With Bitmain Inc. being a USA corporation, it will be difficult for the larger company to claim the suit doesn’t belong in American courts.
Bitmain Technologies LTD. – Founded by Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu in 2013, Bitmain rose to prominence and then dominance in the bitcoin mining space with their ASIC cryptocurrency miners.
Bitmain Technologies Holding Company - The company filed for an initial public offering this past September 26 with the Hong Kong regulatory agency. That IPO has been in doubt of late with disastrous financials leaking and their reputation taking a beating during the hash war that triggered this lawsuit.
Saint Bitts LLC d/b/a Bitcoin.com – Bitcoin.com is one of the more controversial websites in the cryptocurrency industry. Bitcoin.com is probably responsible for onboarding more people to Bitcoin that any other site. They offer news, tools and even online gambling but after the 2017 BTC-BCH split, and their propensity for hyping up poorly planned and executed ICOs they’ve become more divisive in the past couple years.
Read the Court Filings from the BCH Manipulation lawsuit
Roger Ver – Known as the Bitcoin Jesus due to his early wiliness to invest and travel the world spreading the gospel of Bitcoin. He’s fallen from Grace particularly after the 2017 BTC-BCH fork. Ver would debate anyone and everyone, claiming BCH was the true Bitcoin and any chain that deviates from the Satoshi Whitepaper couldn’t claim to be Bitcoin. His decision to support the ABC instance during the hash war and his penchant for putting his promotional support behind pump and dump ICOs has left many of his disciples abandoning the faith. Ver denounced his American citizenship in 2014 and was once denied a USA visa as US immigration was unsure if he’d leave the country and he’d remain as an illegal immigrant. This case should offer US immigration sufficient grounds for a visitor’s visa.
Jihan Wu – He’s the public face of the Bitmain empire. A regular on the conference circuit and recipient of the lion’s share of both the praise and the scorn from the cryptocurrency community. He was the power broker during the 2017 battle for larger blocks in BTC, his mining pools held enough power to determine whether Blockstream’s Segregated Witness and the plan to leave BTC at 1MB blocks or if the big block battle would continue. Wu negotiated a split which created Bitcoin Cash BCH and took the big block supporters with him. He also played a major role in the Hash War, funding the controversial ABC instance and then arranging the mercenary miners to move over to the BCH chain. Like Ver, the split has left his reputation in tatters.
Payward Ventures Inc. d/b/a Kraken – Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange site that was funded by Roger Ver and operated by his high school friend Jesse Powell. The site was one of the more popular exchanges operating in the US, Canada, Japan and the EU. For a couple of years, it stood as the largest exchange in the industry before giving way to companies like Coinbase and Binance. This lawsuit isn’t the first time Kraken has faced scrutiny, earlier this year they were under investigation by the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office who was on a fact-finding mission to see what if any measures exchanges took to protect their customers from market manipulations.
Jesse Powell – Powell, in addition to being Ver’s high school friend, is the CEO of Kraken. When the NYAG was conducting their investigation, Powell made a point not to cooperate and declared the investigation was hostile and bad for business. Unlike Ver who renounced his USA citizenship and left the country, Powell still resides in the US and could be forced to do the heavy lifting if Ver doesn’t return to answer the suit.
Amaury Sechet – Sechet is the lead developer for Bitcoin ABC and the self-proclaimed benevolent dictator of Bitcoin Cash BCH. The anarchist is a French national who is responsible for the contentious changes to the node software that ultimately caused the rift and eventual fork in the BCH chain.
Shammah Chancellor – Is a developer with Bitcoin ABC who works with Sechet.
Jason Cox – Along with Chancellor, works with Bitcoin ABC as a developer.
United American Corp. – The Florida-based company focuses on telecommunications applications, including BlockchainDomes, which are eco-friendly crypto mining facilities that use the generated heat to power green houses and grow food. In 2017, UAC moved heavily into the development and implementation of blockchain-related technologies. The company believes that the high-jacking of the Bitcoin Cash network could imperil its investments, as the changes brought by Bitmain and Ver’s group have altered the fundamental economics of the business.
The post Meet the players in the BCH Market Manipulation Lawsuit appeared first on CoinGeek.
The cryptocurrency world was rocked Thursday by the announcement of a huge lawsuit that was launched by United American Corp. (UAC) against a large number of Bitcoin Cash BCH supporters, including Bitmain and its co-founder Jihan Wu, Bitcoin.com founder Roger Ver, Amaury Séchet of Bitcoin ABC, the Kraken exchange and its CEO, Jesse Powell, as well as a few others. The lawsuit contends egregious amounts of fraud and market manipulation on the part of all defendants and could forever change how BCH is viewed, MarketWatch first reported. The lawsuit and all updates will be available on the www.bitcoincashlitigation.com website.
UAC points out in its lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, that the group of individuals colluded to manipulate the BCH network and take control of its functions. The company asserts that BCH has become centralized, which violates “all accepted distributed and decentralized standards and protocols associated with Bitcoin since its inception.” The Florida-based blockchain company further asserts that Ver, Wu, et al worked in conjunction with the Chinese government in order to lead a hostile takeover of the cryptocurrency.
Breaking News: Lawsuit links Bitmain, Ver camp to ‘premeditated takeover’ of Bitcoin Cash network
The blockchain is meant to be a decentralized solution. To maintain this decentralization, the network operates on a consensus basis that prevents a single person or group from being able to control the majority of the hash, or mining power. If someone is able to control 51% of the network, they can effectively and autonomously decide the blockchain’s fate and this is what the defendants have been able to achieve.
Bitmain publicly acknowledged its support of Bitcoin ABC during the hash wars and launched efforts to force the BCH network to follow ABC during the hash wars. It rented hash power and even deployed 90,000 of its own mining rigs in favor of ABC mining operations, a move that can be seen as an attempt to centralize and control ABC. There were also speculations that Bitmain’s Jihan Wu was unloading BTC to fund the ABC mining operations, which, in turn, drove the prices of crypto down. Now, people are wondering if Wu is just cashing out amid the hash war.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice is also allegedly looking to get involved in the case against Bitmain and Ver’s group through the FBI Cybercrimes Division.
Roger Ver is a “crypto anarchist” and has also directed the mining operations of his Bitcoin.com mining pool to ABC. In addition,Bitcoin.com was a recipient of some of the hashing power that was rented by Bitmain in order to support ABC.
Ver has direct links to the Kraken crypto exchange through its founder, Jesse Powell. They are friends with a history that dates back to their high school days and Kraken was one of the first exchanges to show favoritism for ABC. It was also the first exchange to declare that ABC was offering the true version of BCH.
The lawsuit explains that Bitcoin ABC, the development and mining group that favored moving BCH away from its original design, has now forced changes on the blockchain without regard to what the community wanted. It introduced arbitrary checkpoints that can allow Bitcoin ABC to take over the network. UAC explains, “Combining this change with the hashing power of Bitcoin ABC backers amounts to centralization. They will be able to override any consensus reached by the rest of the network, forcing other to conform or create an unwanted hard fork.”
UAC also asserts that the entities were fundamental in directing hash power—including through the renting of additional mining equipment—during the BCH “hash wars” this month that saw them force the direction the BCH blockchain was headed. The action resulted in an unprecedented amount of hash being processed by Bitcoin ABC backers and further disintegrated the integrity of the BCH network.
UAC has been involved in blockchain innovation since 2017 and has invested more than $4 million in the space. It argues that the selfish manipulation of the blockchain is not consistent with BCH’s design, and that it has completely altered the “fundamental economics of the business.” In simple terms, it can be viewed as ordering a Filet Mignon in a restaurant and being delivered a burnt hamburger, while still paying for the Filet Mignon.
For a deeper narrative about the scheme, visit the Bitcoin Cash Litigation website.
The full filing can be found here.
The post Breaking down the United American lawsuit against Bitmain, Roger Ver, et al appeared first on CoinGeek.
Bitmain, its co-founder Jihan Wu, along with his “team of conspirators” including Bitcoin.com CEO Roger Ver, ABC lead developer Amaury Sechet, Kraken and its CEO, Jesse Powell, will have a lot to answer for. On Thursday, a lawsuit was filed before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida accusing the group of fraud and market manipulation, asserting that these people worked “with the knowledge and support of the Chinese government to stage a premeditated hostile takeover” of the Bitcoin Cash BCH network.
Florida-based blockchain company United American Corp. (UAC) is seeking an emergency injunctive relief, citing losses that stemmed from the Bitcoin Cash hard fork last November 15. On that day, a hash war was fought with miners voting between two competing implementations of the BCH protocol—Bitcoin SV and ABC. ABC took a temporary early lead due to an artificial burst from “rented” hash power subsidized by Ver’s Bitcoin.com, and some exchanges—Kraken in particular—prematurely listed the ABC token as Bitcoin Cash BCH.
Now the other shoe has dropped.
Lawyer Brian Miller of Akerman law firm, who heads the team of lawyers that handles the UAC litigation, said there was “a scheme by a tight network of individuals and organizations designed to co-opt the cryptocurrency market for Bitcoin Cash, effectively hijacking the Bitcoin Cash network, centralizing the market and violating all accepted distributed and decentralized standards and protocols associated with Bitcoin since its inception.” The scheme, allegedly spearheaded by Bitmain and Ver’s camp, reportedly caused “a global capitalization meltdown of more than $4 billion and caused many American and Canadian coin holders to suffer financial damages.”
Also named in the UAC lawsuit were ABC developers Shammah Chancelor and Jason B. Cox.
Aside from the awarding of restitution and compensatory damages, the lawsuit also seeks to prevent ABC from continuing to implement checkpoints on the Bitcoin Cash network and other software implementations that will “prevent the resulting chains from being able to be re-merged. UAC also wants the court to require ABC “to return the blockchain to its previously decentralized form with the previous consensus rules.”
More importantly, UAC wants to prove that the ABC camp, which has “some of the biggest U.S.-based and international names and entities in the digital currency world” among its ranks, is being backed by the Chinese government, all in an effort “to centralize the Bitcoin Cash network resulting in Chinese entities now having established dominance over this important segment of the cryptocurrency market with proprietary software checkpoints and instituting other means of control over the system.”
Lawry Trevor-Deutsch, VP of Corporate Affairs for UAC, said, “We envision a future led by an open, democratic and collaborative community fostering innovation and freedom. No entity or group of entities should seek to seize control of this platform for their own narrow interests or create rules that inhibit new competition and future technological innovation. That’s what this lawsuit is about.”
Full filing can be found here.
The post Lawsuit links Bitmain, Roger Ver group to ‘premeditated hostile takeover’ of Bitcoin Cash network appeared first on CoinGeek.
Early Bitcoin Cash (BCH) user and investor Roger Ver has declared his plan to set up his own cryptocurrency exchange, according to Bloomberg.
The exchange will be available through Bitcoin.com, of which Ver is CEO, “so we’ll have thousands or tens of thousands of new users every single day,” he said. The website already offers his wallet app.
At this stage, Ver is still deciding whether to get a partner to create the exchange with, or to “build one internally.” The advantage of developing the platform on his own, according to him, was “we can do it really, really cheap, and we get exactly what we want.” He admitted, however, that “we don’t have the security of a battle-tested exchange that’s been around for a while.”
Hacks of cryptocurrency exchanges around the world continue to be a problem, resulting sometimes in millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency being stolen. Just last month, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Zaif was hacked, resulting in about $60 million stolen. At present, the exchange is not accepting new accounts.
In South Korea last June, two high-profile hacks of exchanges occurred, with about $40 million being lost from Coinrail, and about $30 million from Bithumb.
The problem has been somewhat offset with the introduction of insurance of cryptocurrency assets on exchanges, but this has yet to be commonplace, and many exchanges still need to find a way to be less vulnerable.
Ver said that Bitcoin BCH will be the base currency for the Bitcoin.com exchange. Already, some exchanges already use BCH as a base currency. Coinex launched late last year, and Voltaire.cash launched in September, offering BCH users more direct trades.
Ver, along with Bitcoin.com, has been one of the biggest proponents of BCH, citing its much lower transactions fees and faster transaction times compared to BTC. Bitcoin.com co-founder Emil Oldenburg made news last December when he said that he had sold all his “good as useless” BTC, trading them for BCH.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
The post Roger Ver planning Bitcoin.com crypto exchange appeared first on Coingeek.
This time last week was a day Bitcoin Core developer Luke-jr would rather forget. It all started when the Core developer took note of a tweet by @TheCoinDad asking him “Why is your name popping up on Rogers screen at the WDMS?”. This was of course, during a Roger Ver talk at the World Digital Mining Summit where we had the below image on display.
The slide during Roger’s presentation attributes the quote “It is no longer possible to keep fees low” to none other than Luke. It’s not the first time this quote has been used in a Roger Ver presentation, and there are interestingly numerous references scattered across the internet concerning it.
It didn’t stop Luke-jr however, from jumping into a tirade, where he tweeted “Roger Ver is a scammer and tends to fabricate false quotes. This isn’t the first time (and probably won’t be the last) I’ve found out about things I’ve “said” through a third party…”
While Luke’s supporters jumped the bandwagon in support, some other users were quick to do their own research, and were quick to point out the very source of the original comment made by Luke.
Link to source: reddit permalink
What’s more interesting is that the quote was verbatim, and none of it was taken out of context.
As evidence mounted, shortly thereafter, Luke ‘Dashjr’ deleted all evidence of the tweet, and issued no apology to Roger for his premature outburst.
Unfortunately for Luke, the Internet is a little bit like the blockchain. What happens on the internet, tends to stay on the internet.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
The post Luke attacks Roger, is proven wrong, deletes evidence, fails to apologise appeared first on Coingeek.
Bitcoin (BCH) & Blockchain Conference: Nov 28-30, The Mermaid, London
In the Bitcoin BCH community Roger Ver needs no introduction but as that community has grown exponentially in the last few years its worth reiterating; Roger was one of the first investors in BCH and remains a passionate and informed speaker on the subject.
CoinGeek Week (Nov 28th - Nov 30th) is a Bitcoin (BCH) & Blockchain Conference with some of the most influential speakers in the industry and will be held at The Mermaid Hotel in the heart of London’s old-fashioned financial district. As ever there will be an after-party hosted by CoinGeek founder Calvin Ayre…just look ‘em up!
Blockchain technology is transforming more than just transactions but BCH is bringing BCH back to its original roots as the one true blockchain that can do it all.
Roger will be joined on the exclusive line up that has also recently confirmed Ryan X Charles, the founder of Yours.org and the soon-to-be-launched ‘Money Button’.
Also confirmed to speak is the ever-controversial Dr Craig Wright, nChain’s Chief Scientist. In the BCH community, everybody has a view on Craig but few can deny the veracity of his maths.
With transaction fees on BCH at an average of $0.02 coupled with the Money Button, BCH is going to get even quicker and even easier.
The three-day conference will include developers, miners, merchant’s – both those curious to adopt BCH and those who already do and, of course, investors in BCH, the only true Bitcoin.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
The post CoinGeek Week: Roger Ver joins speaker roster appeared first on Coingeek.
Get those Bitcoin Core (BTC) supporters and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) proponents out on a leisurely cruise from Barcelona, on to Monte Carlo, France, Italy, to Ibiza and back again to Barca over five days, and they’ll cool way out.
Arrange a good-natured debate between a legendary ecosystem investor, passionate BCH protestlytizer Roger Ver, CEO of Bitcoin.com, versus BTC developer, budding technical author, and coding evangelist Jimmy Song. Sun, poolside, a paradisal venue for disputation, argument of the refined sort—what could possibly go wrong?
That idea lasted a full 30 seconds, and then all hell broke loose.
First, a disclosure: I am a paid shill, a full-on fanboy of Roger Ver. I think he’s a heroic figure, one seldom appreciated. I won’t toady it up and insist he can do no wrong, but even when he’s wrong-ish, he’s almost just about right. I also used to enjoy Jimmy Song’s YouTube episodes about coding and his program, Morning Brief. Mr. Song and I agree quite a bit on economics and political worldview. There is a lot to like about him. Oh, I am paid in Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
No more easy smile
Before the formal debate had even begun, stage right, off the platform, Mr. Song was holding court, as an Eazy-E circa early NWA looking Roger Ver and a gaggle of folks wearing BCH PLS t-shirts leered on. Mr. Song, decked out in a multi-gallon cowboy hat, sports coat, and matching suit attire, animatedly accused Mr. Ver of stacking the crowd with BCH supporters. He frantically pointed to them one by one, angrily insisting the fix was in.
And maybe it was, crowd wise. But, then again, video audio can be heard clearly enough, a tad later in the debate, how a healthy gaggle of Mr. Song supporters managed to find their way poolside. So maybe Mr. Song was making something out of nothing, fighting nerves. That normally relaxed Jimmy Song face, easy smile, was gone. It was replaced by someone who very much felt wronged, and wronged from the outset.
The two men managed to hammer out to their satisfaction enough to ascend the stage. A lone podium with a single microphone was between to chairs—Mr. Song, back and to stage right; Mr. Ver, stage left, immediately to the left side. Mr. Ver wore a snapback baseball cap, black, with BCH PLS embroidered atop. He also hid behind very black sunglasses and a wry smile as he sat, giving Mr. Song the floor.
Jimmy Song came prepared. He whispered something about a page missing from his prepared remarks, and then appeared to attempt wrestling a format structure to the debate. Almost immediately, Mr. Ver, still seated, offered mild protest about not having agreed to any such format, nevermind a “Lincoln-Douglas” style exchange.
This Song is done
It wasn’t too much longer when Mr. Ver decided to stand and talk over Mr. Song’s presumption at an agreed-to format. Roger Ver teased at grabbing the microphone, and Mr. Song dutifully un-holstered it from the podium, away from Mr. Ver. The two men argued more about time and whether Mr. Song’s introduction of the format constituted his introduction or counted against Mr. Ver’s time. Exasperated, Mr. Song’s face shook, and he threatened to not debate should this persist.
A few exchanges more, and Mr. Song exited for the first time. He diva’d, almost hopping, off the stage in a huff. Mr. Ver commandeered the microphone, explaining the ambush Mr. Song complained of was actually happening to him. Mr. Song had rigged the format to suit his debating style, and without consulting Mr. Ver. After having said his peace, Mr. Ver essentially begged Mr. Song back to the stage, “C’mon Jimmy!”
Protestations more, and Jimmy Song did return. He moved to the podium, categorically insisted this to be the reason no one wants to debate Mr. Ver, and set about making his case as to why Bitcoin Cash is fiat money. Graciously, Mr. Song began, “I’d also like to thank Roger Ver, particularly for his early evangelism of Bitcoin. We may be debating today, but there is a lot that we do agree on philosophically and I admire your contributions toward the cause of liberty.”
Pleasantries dispensed, Mr. Song began to lay out a case Bitcoin Cash as it is presently configured behaved much like government money, specifically following along the lines of mid 20th century English economist John Maynard Keynes. Mr. Song insisted, “The economic philosophy of BCH is Keynesian in that central authorities intervene to ‘spur innovation’ or ‘solve problems’. The method of payment use case has been subsidized by central authorities through large blocks, despite all market signals to the contrary. My opponent says things like ‘transactions should be free’ as if they’re entitlements. The smart contract use case has also been subsidized by central authorities, despite there being very little utility or demand for such a thing. BCH is very much paternalistic.”
1 million dollar wager
He further explained BCH was centrally controlled by a large mining concern, one that attempts to peg it to BTC, a policy Mr. Song concluded has done little but fail. “BCH is a fiat money, and their main appeal is that they’ll be better than the fiat central bankers that you already know,” he stressed. “The promise of BCH is governance as a benevolent ruler versus granting you self-sovereignty over your own money. This is the major difference between BTC and BCH and is the reason why BCH is no different than any altcoin.”
At almost exactly 16 minutes into the debate, Mr. Ver offered his rebuttal. After reminding the assembled this was not an agreed-to format, Mr. Ver dismissed Mr. Song’s thesis as “a bunch of nonsense.” Mr. Ver then went on to offer a confidence play, a challenge. “I’ll bet a million dollars in whatever cryptocurrency you want that within 10 years Bitcoin Cash will have a larger market cap than the BTC version of Bitcoin today. I yield the rest of my time to you, Jimmy.”
Very much stunned by the offer, Mr. Song once again regained the microphone. Since Mr. Ver didn’t address his points one by one, Mr. Song decided Mr. Ver had conceded that much of the debate. Mr. Song then continued reading from his prepared remarks, pouding home the point BCH was centralized.
One of the key points of centralization, Mr. Song said, was the very contentious debate happening within the Bitcoin Cash universe at the moment. Normally once aligned forces were now at one another’s throats, Mr. Song said. This was evident the factions were fighting for control. And if something can be controlled, that means it is too centralized.
This Song is done, again
Roger Ver again took his turn, and immediately reversed the claim. It is precisely the sign of a vibrant, healthy community when different ideas can be debated and discussed, he answered. Even when the debates run hot, Mr. Ver said, people have the chance to humble themselves and listen.
He said BTC was so centralized, so controlled, developers and those challenging their assumptions have been literally banished. The consensus among BTCers, in fact, was a sign of centralization, of control. Mr. Ver then pointed to his favorite target, the Reddit sub forum r/bitcoin.
BTC proponents have silenced BCH voices among them, Mr. Ver said, and wasn’t this a sign of a closed, unhealthy community. And as to its being a fiat currency, BCH is exactly the opposite, Mr. Ver maintained. A primary definition of a fiat currency is its being dictated, its use mandated by government force. Enthusiasts have literally thousands of choices among cryptocurrencies, and BCH is just one. “Cryptocurrencies are the currencies of freedom!” he shouted.
Mr. Song regained the podium, reading from prepared remarks. He attempted to fit those into the context of the debate, mentioning many times BTC is a meritocracy and how no one was entitled to be heard in the community. Mr. Ver then responded by suggesting he hadn’t argued for entitlement but more for an ethos, a way of acting inside the space. That it has changed in favor of one group to the exclusion of any other voices troubled Mr. Ver. The rest of what was to constitute the debate actually turned interesting, as the two men traded questions and answers between themselves. At the 44-minute mark, Mr. Song announced he was finished, disgusted, and he left unceremoniously. A member of the crowd jumped on stage in proxy. This Song was done, again.
C. Edward Kelso is a financial technology journalist based in Southern California. Follow him on Twitter.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
The post All hell breaks loose: Bitcoin BCH vs. BTC debate appeared first on Coingeek.
Get those Bitcoin Core (BTC) supporters and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) proponents out on a leisurely cruise from Barcelona, on to Monte Carlo, France, Italy, to Ibiza and back again to Barca over five days, and they’ll cool way out.
Arrange a good-natured debate between a legendary ecosystem investor, passionate BCH protestlytizer Roger Ver, CEO of Bitcoin.com, versus BTC developer, budding technical author, and coding evangelist Jimmy Song. Sun, poolside, a paradisal venue for disputation, argument of the refined sort—what could possibly go wrong?
That idea lasted a full 30 seconds, and then all hell broke loose.
First, a disclosure: I am a paid shill, a full-on fanboy of Roger Ver. I think he’s a heroic figure, one seldom appreciated. I won’t toady it up and insist he can do no wrong, but even when he’s wrong-ish, he’s almost just about right. I also used to enjoy Jimmy Song’s YouTube episodes about coding and his program, Morning Brief. Mr. Song and I agree quite a bit on economics and political worldview. There is a lot to like about him. Oh, I am paid in Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
No more easy smile
Before the formal debate had even begun, stage right, off the platform, Mr. Song was holding court, as an Eazy-E circa early NWA looking Roger Ver and a gaggle of folks wearing BCH PLS t-shirts leered on. Mr. Song, decked out in a multi-gallon cowboy hat, sports coat, and matching suit attire, animatedly accused Mr. Ver of stacking the crowd with BCH supporters. He frantically pointed to them one by one, angrily insisting the fix was in.
And maybe it was, crowd wise. But, then again, video audio can be heard clearly enough, a tad later in the debate, how a healthy gaggle of Mr. Song supporters managed to find their way poolside. So maybe Mr. Song was making something out of nothing, fighting nerves. That normally relaxed Jimmy Song face, easy smile, was gone. It was replaced by someone who very much felt wronged, and wronged from the outset.
The two men managed to hammer out to their satisfaction enough to ascend the stage. A lone podium with a single microphone was between to chairs—Mr. Song, back and to stage right; Mr. Ver, stage left, immediately to the left side. Mr. Ver wore a snapback baseball cap, black, with BCH PLS embroidered atop. He also hid behind very black sunglasses and a wry smile as he sat, giving Mr. Song the floor.
Jimmy Song came prepared. He whispered something about a page missing from his prepared remarks, and then appeared to attempt wrestling a format structure to the debate. Almost immediately, Mr. Ver, still seated, offered mild protest about not having agreed to any such format, nevermind a “Lincoln-Douglas” style exchange.
This Song is done
It wasn’t too much longer when Mr. Ver decided to stand and talk over Mr. Song’s presumption at an agreed-to format. Roger Ver teased at grabbing the microphone, and Mr. Song dutifully un-holstered it from the podium, away from Mr. Ver. The two men argued more about time and whether Mr. Song’s introduction of the format constituted his introduction or counted against Mr. Ver’s time. Exasperated, Mr. Song’s face shook, and he threatened to not debate should this persist.
A few exchanges more, and Mr. Song exited for the first time. He diva’d, almost hopping, off the stage in a huff. Mr. Ver commandeered the microphone, explaining the ambush Mr. Song complained of was actually happening to him. Mr. Song had rigged the format to suit his debating style, and without consulting Mr. Ver. After having said his peace, Mr. Ver essentially begged Mr. Song back to the stage, “C’mon Jimmy!”
Protestations more, and Jimmy Song did return. He moved to the podium, categorically insisted this to be the reason no one wants to debate Mr. Ver, and set about making his case as to why Bitcoin Cash is fiat money. Graciously, Mr. Song began, “I’d also like to thank Roger Ver, particularly for his early evangelism of Bitcoin. We may be debating today, but there is a lot that we do agree on philosophically and I admire your contributions toward the cause of liberty.”
Pleasantries dispensed, Mr. Song began to lay out a case Bitcoin Cash as it is presently configured behaved much like government money, specifically following along the lines of mid 20th century English economist John Maynard Keynes. Mr. Song insisted, “The economic philosophy of BCH is Keynesian in that central authorities intervene to ‘spur innovation’ or ‘solve problems’. The method of payment use case has been subsidized by central authorities through large blocks, despite all market signals to the contrary. My opponent says things like ‘transactions should be free’ as if they’re entitlements. The smart contract use case has also been subsidized by central authorities, despite there being very little utility or demand for such a thing. BCH is very much paternalistic.”
1 million dollar wager
He further explained BCH was centrally controlled by a large mining concern, one that attempts to peg it to BTC, a policy Mr. Song concluded has done little but fail. “BCH is a fiat money, and their main appeal is that they’ll be better than the fiat central bankers that you already know,” he stressed. “The promise of BCH is governance as a benevolent ruler versus granting you self-sovereignty over your own money. This is the major difference between BTC and BCH and is the reason why BCH is no different than any altcoin.”
At almost exactly 16 minutes into the debate, Mr. Ver offered his rebuttal. After reminding the assembled this was not an agreed-to format, Mr. Ver dismissed Mr. Song’s thesis as “a bunch of nonsense.” Mr. Ver then went on to offer a confidence play, a challenge. “I’ll bet a million dollars in whatever cryptocurrency you want that within 10 years Bitcoin Cash will have a larger market cap than the BTC version of Bitcoin today. I yield the rest of my time to you, Jimmy.”
Very much stunned by the offer, Mr. Song once again regained the microphone. Since Mr. Ver didn’t address his points one by one, Mr. Song decided Mr. Ver had conceded that much of the debate. Mr. Song then continued reading from his prepared remarks, pouding home the point BCH was centralized.
One of the key points of centralization, Mr. Song said, was the very contentious debate happening within the Bitcoin Cash universe at the moment. Normally once aligned forces were now at one another’s throats, Mr. Song said. This was evident the factions were fighting for control. And if something can be controlled, that means it is too centralized.
This Song is done, again
Roger Ver again took his turn, and immediately reversed the claim. It is precisely the sign of a vibrant, healthy community when different ideas can be debated and discussed, he answered. Even when the debates run hot, Mr. Ver said, people have the chance to humble themselves and listen.
He said BTC was so centralized, so controlled, developers and those challenging their assumptions have been literally banished. The consensus among BTCers, in fact, was a sign of centralization, of control. Mr. Ver then pointed to his favorite target, the Reddit sub forum r/bitcoin.
BTC proponents have silenced BCH voices among them, Mr. Ver said, and wasn’t this a sign of a closed, unhealthy community. And as to its being a fiat currency, BCH is exactly the opposite, Mr. Ver maintained. A primary definition of a fiat currency is its being dictated, its use mandated by government force. Enthusiasts have literally thousands of choices among cryptocurrencies, and BCH is just one. “Cryptocurrencies are the currencies of freedom!” he shouted.
Mr. Song regained the podium, reading from prepared remarks. He attempted to fit those into the context of the debate, mentioning many times BTC is a meritocracy and how no one was entitled to be heard in the community. Mr. Ver then responded by suggesting he hadn’t argued for entitlement but more for an ethos, a way of acting inside the space. That it has changed in favor of one group to the exclusion of any other voices troubled Mr. Ver. The rest of what was to constitute the debate actually turned interesting, as the two men traded questions and answers between themselves. At the 44-minute mark, Mr. Song announced he was finished, disgusted, and he left unceremoniously. A member of the crowd jumped on stage in proxy. This Song was done, again.
C. Edward Kelso is a financial technology journalist based in Southern California. Follow him on Twitter.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
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