Alyssa Hertig writing for CoinDesk
And a new software release by leading bitcoin cash implementation, Bitcoin ABC, has been perceived by some as a subtle declaration of war within the developer community.
The software includes a suite of upgrades, including a smart contract feature that would support atomic swaps, a way of trading one cryptocurrency for another without traditional exchanges. And while many cryptocurrency projects are excited about the idea of interoperable coins, some big names in the bitcoin cash community don’t agree with the changes and have – no surprise – been very vocal about it.
The challenge of becoming very successful in a very unregulated and unstructured form – as Bitcoin is – is that egos grow up and everyone wants to stick their name to it. Thus, the healthy debate of ideas slows down, and so does the innovation.
The risk of unstructured teams is that it becomes harder to get consensus and, in this particular case, that another cryptocurrency emerges, making it even more confusing for masses to accept this new financial technology. Until crowds take it, the success of the whole idea is relative.
Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV are incompatible software, and both groups behind the implementations are seeking to trigger new code changes in November. As such, if some bitcoin cash users run one software and others run the other, it’ll cause a chain split and create a new competing cryptocurrency.
I’m not suggesting that copying the financial model we have today, with substantial middleman intervention generating transaction fees and commissions for some, is the way forward. I believe that cryptocurrency’s unique selling point is not to run under this model. However, to achieve the optimum state, it needs to be wrapped up on a structure to enable a logical decision-making process. Ultimately, such an arrangement will lead to a quicker time-to-market process and general adoption.
