TL;DR: After a video showing the ease with which BTC could be double spent among merchants, enthusiasts began to wonder at the claim’s veracity. At least one Bitcoiner sought clarification on popular subreddit r/bitcoin. The questioner suspected rival projects were spreading fear uncertainty and doubt (FUD). Moderators automatically flagged the post and promptly removed it from the discussion.

r/bitcoin Bans Questions About BTC Double Spend Security Breach

The video shows use of an Electrum Wallet on Android for BTC at a restaurant in Australia. Through a rather simple set up, it appeared to be a critical lapse in security. After setting up two wallets, the replace-by-fee tool was enabled on one, then disabled in another, and the merchant is unaware until its too late: funds return to the sender, merchandise gone.

Some enthusiasts insisted such an attack is the fault of the merchant’s point-of-sale (PoS) system choice or the merchant’s own lack of vigilance. Others acknowledged such double-spends are entirely possible but solved through this or that code fix. The video’s content was not questioned as to the legitimacy of its demonstration, however.

Confused, an r/bitcoin poster noticed, “I’ve seen a bunch of posts about 400 Australia dumping bitcoin core [(BTC)] because of a security breach? Sounds like some [(Bitcoin Cash)] fud?” Indeed, social media debated the topic hotly, and where better than a more in-depth, bitcoin-centric subreddit to get clarification. Moderators for r/bitcoin thought otherwise.

Not a New Phenomenon

They removed the post immediately. “Your submission has been flagged for removal because it pertains primarily to altcoin discussion and/or promotion,” r/bitcoin moderators charged through a bot. They then encouraged the poster to use another, more general subreddit instead.

It’s the latest example of accusations against BTC maximalists regarding censorship. r/bitcoin, in particular, has a long history of blocking views that run against less-than-positive news regarding BTC. As message boards like Reddit grew in influence, the importance of information gathering through r/bitcoin was viewed as critical for a time. Enthusiasts became so frustrated with r/bitcoin censorship, they created a lighter-touch, in terms of moderation, subreddit for free discussion, r/btc.

Maximalists this year alone tried to censor the Twitter handle @Bitcoin (it was later transferred under mysterious circumstances) when it began to advocate for peer-to-peer electronic cash over the pivot toward digital gold. More recently, BTC maximalists mass reported the popular account Crypto Deleted for its criticism of BTC influencers.

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