Bitcoin Core developer Jeff Garzik has sparked contention with a post asking if further measures were needed to prevent covert AsicBoost.

Addressing the work group (WG) on Github, Garzik put forward a selection of next steps aimed at “testing protocol/software changes that ban/disable/render ineffective this hardware optimization.”

However, fellow contributor Greg Maxwell responded accusing Garzik of attempting to allow AsicBoost to, in fact, continue under his “modified version” of Segregated Witness with a hard fork.

Maxwell wrote:

“So to be clear about what you've written between the lines: you have decided that impeding covert asicboost would be a violation of the "SegWit2x charter" and so you will assure that covert asicboost continues to function in your modified version of segwit and HF as people have been alleging you would do? This will require further departure and incompatibility with the segwit proposal.”

Infighting among Core members has continued on the topic of Bitcoin’s future following Barry Silbert’s attempt to ratify an agreement which would see SegWit introduction in September followed by a cooling-off period for a block size increase to 2 MB.

Reactions have been mixed, while practicality problems on the Bitcoin network are resulting in greater user calls than ever to initiate a binding solution.

Garzik, meanwhile, faced pressure to state whether he intends to have AsicBoost disabled.

“Anything that was not discussed is, by definition, A New Issue To Raise And Discuss. Which is what was done here,” he wrote.