Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Don’t worry, I come in peace. I'm not here to stir the pot, but rather to ask a question. I understand why many of you are against the IFP, and the way it was handled. I don't share your opinion, but I respect it, and I see the reasoning behind it. I also don't think you're stupid for believing what you do, and I'm certainly not laughing at anyone. But I do have a question for you: What do you see as your roadmap for Bitcoin Cash?

Let's imagine that Amaury and ABC suddenly bailed on BCH, and it's now BCH Node's turn to lead protocol development, what is the plan for the next year, or three, or five? I'm not saying you don't have one. I'm just saying I don't know what it is.

Despite how many of you seem to feel about Amaury and ABC, at least I have an idea of what their plan is. Perhaps they haven't been perfect, but I don't think you can deny they have been good stewards of the protocol. Ignore the price, or the ratio, because honestly, I don't think they're to blame. In my opinion, that has more to do with marketing and all the bad publicity BCH has faced since its inception, as well as the lack of funding.

I know some of you will accuse me of being in the Amaury cult. You are free to think whatever you want, but I promise I'm my own man. I believe in those who give me a reason to believe in them, and not because I'm trying to get anyone to like me, or because I want to be their friend. I'm here because I want to see this technology change the world. I joined this movement because I see the huge potential, and I want to be able to say that I was a part of it.

To be honest, for the last week or so I've been struggling to come up with what to write next in this column. I also found I had little to say on Twitter, or Telegram, so I took a few days to take a breath. It was refreshing to not be consumed by BCH for a brief moment. But at the same time it allowed me to realize that for the small team at ABC, taking a breath isn't really something they can do. They can't just step away like I can. I could disappear from the scene tomorrow and it wouldn't make any difference, but not them. More than just about anybody, I believe they feel a responsibility to all of us in the community, and to the network they created. You might deny this, but I am confident that their role in all this has been greatly taken for granted.

But like I said in the beginning, I'm not here trying to stir the pot. I'm here to ask a question. Because what I want more than anything is for BCH to succeed, to offer the world a better option, and I put that above any one person or team. So if the team behind BCH Node is promising to deliver that and make me rich in the process, I'm all ears. What is the plan going forward? Will this simply be a competing implementation? Or do you want to kill ABC and take over development completely? Who will be the lead engineer, or the new benevolent dictator, or will this be done by committee?

I ask because I don’t want to just blindly follow anyone. I want to be confident in whom I’m putting my trust

I know nobody can claim to see the future, or into the hearts of men, but I would love to see what ABC could do if they were properly funded for once. I want to see them build out their team and have the necessary resources to do that which they've wanted to do. If they don't deliver, then a lesson is learned, but I think they've earned the chance to give it a shot.

There's nothing wrong with a competing client, but I ask that we not kill the team that got us here with politics but by outcompeting them with better technology.

And if your reaction to this is that I'm an ABC shill or sock puppet, I know I have no way to prove anything or convince you otherwise, but I promise, I'm not here to worship anyone, I just see what I see, and then I write about it.

Thanks for reading.