TL;DR: “Due to strong demand from prominent Bitcoin businesses, miners, mining pools, and developers,” anonymous developer freetrader announced, “we are releasing a minimally-altered client based on Bitcoin ABC.” It’s the response from a dozen well-known developers to the Infrastructure Funding Plan for Bitcoin Cash (IFP), marking a potentially critical turning point in the heated debate.

Bitcoin Cash Developers Fork ABC Reference Implementation Client

Calling it the Bitcoin Cash Node (BCH Node), freetrader explained, “The Bitcoin ABC version 0.21.0 client, released for the May 15th 2020 upgrade, includes controversial changes to BCH coin issuance. It is generally agreed that the lack of consensus and method of activation significantly raise the risk of a chain split.” ABC recently announced its intention to move forward on the IFP, essentially baking it into the protocol.

Our contributors include: Andrea Suisani (sickpig) of Bitcoin Unlimited, Calin Culianu (NilacTheGrim) of Electron Cash, Fulcrum; Dagur V. Johannsson, emergent_reasons, Fernando Pelliccioni of Knuth Node, freetrader formerly of Bitcoin ABC, imaginary_username, Jt Freeman of fountainhead.cash. Developers in support of the effort: Jonathan Silverblood, Josh Green of Bitcoin Verde, Mark Lundeberg, Tom Zander of Flowee the Hub.

“The only difference between the new client and ABC v0.21.0 is the removal of the coinbase reward diversion code and its associated signaling and activation,” freetrader noted. ABC’s plan to go ahead with the IFP prompted responses from the developer community, including those who have worked closely with the main reference client team, many of whom voiced their principled opposition.

“The primary goal of this initiative is to provide a safe and professional node implementation that will neutrally follow the longest chain without contributing to the risk of a chain split,” freetrader assured. BCH node “will function as a drop-in replacement for miners and businesses already running the ABC client.”

Committed to Maintaining BCH Node for At Least One Year

Criticism of any node alternative inevitably led to talk about its funding, the root issue of the IFP and seemingly inescapable for a project as large as Bitcoin Cash. Protocol development is decidedly unsexy, thankless work, often without the media attention given to hotshot application development, for example.

We are in active communication with exchanges, mining pools and miners.

To that end, freetrader stressed the group of 12 “commit to maintaining the alternate client for at least one year and cooperating with the wider ecosystem in a transparent process that will help avoid a similar situation in the future.” Specifics on how it will be funded were not announced.

Key, as well, for any potential reference client is reaction from increasingly powerful cryptocurrency exchanges in viewing such a client fork, however mild. “We are in active communication with exchanges, mining pools and miners,” freetrader insisted. “Bitcoin Cash Node software will be available soon, followed by a more detailed near-term plan.”

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DISCLOSURE: The author holds cryptocurrency as part of his financial portfolio, including BCH.