Sunday, February 16, 2020

Here we go again.

It's like I'm having deja vu.

I remember the last time we went through this, I couldn't make up my mind. Then it looked like the Infrastructure Funding Plan (IFP) was dead, and I sort of stopped thinking about it, until yesterday.

I admit at first I was just as conflicted as before. But then something happened. As I asked people against the plan some questions in an effort to try and better understand them, I was told to fuck off, that I was asking loaded questions, and that I was a coward. I admit it kind of hurt. Last time, this type of hostility made me rethink my initial reaction to the funding plan. I wasn't sure what I supported anymore, and I resigned myself to being neutral. But maybe I wasn't really neutral, maybe I was just fooling myself into thinking I was.

I understand why people are upset. This goes against their idea of what bitcoin is supposed to be, what they believe is the best path forward for this project. I am sympathetic to that. I respect how passionate everyone is. It's why I was so conflicted for so long, because people who I have a lot of respect for and have learned from were vehemently against the plan. Though there were also plenty of people in support of the plan, I wondered if they were wrong, if I was wrong. I make mistakes all the time, this wouldn't be my first. But I also couldn't get myself to see the plan as some atrocity that shouldn't be given any consideration. I saw the plan as a potential solution.

The fact is the devs need funding. They need to hire more people, and to know they can promise their hires some level of stability beyond just a handful of months. New employees want to believe they will be employed for at least a couple of years. I know I wouldn't leave my job for a company who could run out of money at any moment.

So yes, I guess my questions were loaded, and maybe I was indeed being a coward in that I didn't want to choose. But now I have. I understand those who oppose this decision, so please don't take this personally. I respect your position, but you must also respect mine, even if you disagree or think it unwise. I am not hurting anyone with my actions. I believe in Bitcoin Cash as a potentially revolutionary technology. I believe in the economics that make it work. I want to see it succeed, and I believe that if no other solution arises, this plan gives Bitcoin Cash its best chance of surviving and thriving.

I know what some of you may be thinking. People seem to assume that I'm just trying to suck up to Amaury and the Bitcoin ABC team. I'm not. I simply agree with their logic and have come to this decision on my own after a lot of hard thinking. As a result, I'm going to make my bet based on the information available to me. But like with any bet, I understand I could lose.

The way I see it, the biggest mining pool operators want this, and they asked the devs of the lead implementation to code it in so it can be an option for the May upgrade. Nothing is for certain at this point. I assume nobody knows what's actually going to happen, only what they think will happen. It is no different for me. I have tried to see the situation from all angles and this is how I perceive it. Bitcoin is an elegant system. Miners mine on top of whatever block they want. If they don't agree with the consensus rules of one network, they can mine on a network they do agree with. Similarly, if devs aren't interested in building on a specific network, they are free to work on any project they want. And if users and holders no longer believe in a project's future, they have the option to sell their coins, or to stop accepting those coins at their place of business.

Everyone has a choice. Nobody is being forced to do anything. I can always sell my BCH and forget all about it and move on. Miners who don't like this plan can mine what they want. Devs who don't like this can work on other projects and some already have. I will choose to keep using Bitcoin Cash until it no longer is in my best interest to do so. In my mind, it's still the best money the world has ever seen, and this plan means that serious miners are willing to invest in the future of Bitcoin Cash. It means teams working on BCH infrastructure will have an opportunity to focus on building rather than surviving.

I hope that there are others who feel the same way I do, but to those who don't, I equally hope you can understand and respect my position. When we split off of BSV, I might have thought those who followed nChain and Coingeek were making the wrong choice, but they were free to do as they pleased.

I could sit here and go on about my reasons for choosing to support the IFP if it goes forward, but I'm not here to try and convince you. I think it's up to everyone to come to their own conclusion based on their own research.

Like I said, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this plan doesn't work and I end up regretting my choice. But that's my choice to make. You might think it's stupid, but you can't stop me from doing what I want, just as I can't stop anyone else from making their own choices assuming these choices aren't infringing upon the rights of others.

To be honest, I have a feeling that in the future there will be many cryptocurrencies that are used as money. Just as we have Visa and Mastercard and Discover and American Express, there will be BCH, BTC, ETH, LTC, XMR, and many more. We'll all be free to choose whatever coin we like best. In fact, you're already seeing it now on read.cash.

I sincerely hope we can keep this community united. If a legitimate fundraiser is put together, I plan on contributing. But if the donations don't meet the necessary goals, and the IFP is activated in May, I will choose to continue supporting BCH and contributing in whatever way I can.

Thanks for reading.