Regardless of what some may believe, Bitcoin Core (BTC) is not Bitcoin. BTC has strayed completely away from the original definition and design of Bitcoin as explained by Satoshi Nakamoto in his white paper on the subject. If one were to compare the characteristics of Bitcoin and BTC side by side, the differences would become glaringly obvious. Dr. Craig Wright, who knows Bitcoin better than anyone else on the planet—he should; he designed it—explains in a Medium post some of the reasons why BTC is not Bitcoin.

Wright leads off by attempting to set the record straight on Bitcoin. He explains, “Firstly, there is the fallacy that Satoshi acted in a particular way. The reality is that as Satoshi, I interacted with people who held views that differed from mine. In creating Bitcoin, I sought to create an honest and legally enforceable cash system. To be cash, that is to be money, Bitcoin needs to be neutral. It is not a system that is friendly to crime but a system that is friendly to most people. Such are people who act across the law in a variety of ways.”

Bitcoin was designed to be private, not anonymous. A look at a number of the digital currency offerings shows how the idea of privacy has been completely bastardized and misdefined by a number of crypto developers looking to support their own agendas.

Bitcoin was really, in essence, according to Wright, designed to allow people to conduct transactions without having to use a credit or debit card. Perhaps they don’t own one, they don’t want to give it out, or perhaps they don’t want to get stuck with a recurring bill. Regardless of the reason, Bitcoin was to offer an easy, peer-to-peer solution for a number of problems.

Wright explains, “There is a great falsehood about Bitcoin that has been spread by such people seeking to hijack the platform and create something else. It is the claim that Bitcoin was anti-authority. Bitcoin is an immutable log and an immutable evidence trail. Bitcoin is a form of money that is traceable allowing for the requirements of a sound and honest money dictated by Joseph Stiglitz. Unfortunately, the people who sought e-gold and DigiCash and tried to create bit gold did not want Bitcoin. Such groups sought something completely different to what Bitcoin is, and have hijacked the narrative.”

Despite a believe by some crypto fans that Bitcoin can operate with governments, this is a fallacy that shows how little these individuals understand of currency, Bitcoin and governments. Wright states in his post, “Bitcoin doesn’t stop banking fraud and doesn’t stop fraud at all. Fraud is stopped when you have requirements to act under law and Bitcoin as an evidentiary trail. The point is, Bitcoin reduces the need for certain governmental controls when government exists.”

Developers have already shown that they can—and will—change digital currencies to suit their own needs. This is precisely the issue Bitcoin was striving to address—the ability of a central government to change currencies on a whim. This is why BTC, and other coins like it, are not Bitcoin and why they will ultimately fail. It is also the reason that Bitcoin SV is the original—and only—Bitcoin and why it will ultimately succeed.

New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeek’s Bitcoin for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about Bitcoin—as originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto—and blockchain.