As we are all well aware, yesterday (August 1, 2017) was a roller coaster ride in crypto land... not because we thought anything bad would happen, but because it was exciting to see exactly what would happen. It was exhilarating to witness history unfold... we now have enough Bitcoin/crypto stories to regale our grandchildren for years.
That being said, as soon as I caught wind of Bitcoin Cash and the move by a small segment of the Bitcoin community to push 8MB blocks, seemingly without concern for what others thought, I immediately hated it.
First, I hated it because, after close to 3 years of explaining Bitcoin to friends, family and my online audience, it appeared that we were going to find ourselves with 2 Bitcoins, confusing the hell out of people who were just starting to catch on.
I thought it muddied the waters. I didn't want that to happen. I wanted ONE BITCOIN, forever, end of story.
Second, I hated it because it appeared to be, on the surface, a scathing indictment of our inability to come together as a community and scale Bitcoin in a way that keeps it safe, speedy, inexpensive and readily available to everyone everywhere.
I understand that people are people, we're all different, and we will rarely all agree on any one solution. At some points in the debate it looked like we had stalemated, and at other times it looked like events were moving at breakneck speed.
Either way, it appeared that we had not done our job as the 'keepers of Bitcoin' (albeit self-proclaimed) by having responsible conversation on the issue until we reached a successful resolution.
I felt embarrassed for the Bitcoin community. I didn't know why, or who was responsible, I just felt like we failed at coming together, under the banner of freedom and consensus, to act like grown ups and take care of our baby.
Little did I realize, that the baby is strong enough to withstand all our human bickering and disagreement.
Thank God.
Third, I hated it because I thought it would siphon off market share from Bitcoin (my first love). I must confess, I wanted Bitcoin Cash to fall flat on its face, die and go quietly into the night.
Now, POST-FORK, I have a new perspective, call it a fresh perspective... I say let the markets decide. It will soon be clear who the winner is, Bitcoin with SegWit fully locked in (as we steadily approach that threshold) or Bitcoin Cash with its 8MB block size.
Let's watch and see how it plays out in the real world, what the use cases for each may be, and what we add to our knowledge base about cryptocurrency and the cryptocurrency markets in the process.
I went live on my YouTube channel yesterday (August 1) to speak of the fork, Bitcoin Cash, and how we all get to be participants in the global change we desire it to be, whatever that means for you. Watch it here:
I no longer wish death to Bitcoin Cash. I'm open. We'll see what happens.
Live long & prosper,
Crypto Diva