On Roger Ver and BCH

The contention with BCH has little to do with any of the mental tele-prompter catchphrases spewed by Roger Ver. The real problem with BCH is Roger himself.

His superficial charm and glibness papers over an inflated sense of self-worth, one that has only been amplified by his quest for control and power over the cryptocurrency (aka 'crypto') ecosystem. It takes very few searches to find examples of where Roger has pathologically lied about easily verified facts.

Where does this constant need for controversy and drama come from? Indeed, Ver has conned newcomers to the crypto space by presenting BCH as something that it isn't. Roger insists that BCH is Bitcoin, even when to the most casual observer it clearly isn't.

The irony of course is, once you fork or duplicate a codebase and make changes, what comes out is not the original. That's why its called a "fork", like two roads leading to drastically different destinations.

History provides valuable perspective. To better understand Roger's destructive behaviour, lets visit a few pivotal moments from his past.

In the early aughts, Roger sought a position of influence and power. He ran for California State Assembly, proudly posing in front of a gleaming cadillac, large block capitals spelling "VER" on a political pasteboard beside him. Luckily for California, he did not achieve his aims.

A college dropout, Roger started a business selling various products. Unfortunately for the neighbors and families living in the apartment complex he resided in, one of those products was highly volatile explosives. Without remorse or even a hint of guilt, Roger sold these dangerous items using his apartment as a makeshift depot, with flammable packages stacked up awaiting illegal shipment using the U.S. Postal Service.

This brazen lack of empathy and irresponsible behavior finally caught the attention of the authorities. Roger Ver was subsequently found guilty of no less than three full felonies, and sentenced to serve almost a full year in prison. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last time Roger would run afoul of the law.

Emerging from the penal system as an ex-convict, Roger seized upon quick ways to make cash. In the early aughts computer hardware was a lucrative business. Roger started a company called "MemoryDealers", registering a dot com domain using the same name.

There's a well-documented example of how Roger ran his business over at the bitcointalk forums. A customer allegedly owed Roger money, so Roger abused his administrator status at blockchain dot info to 'dox' this customer. This impulsive and illegal act was coupled with Roger's refusal to accept any responsibility. (He locked the thread soon after to prevent any further discussion, since it hurt his ego to be called out on it.)

Roger's stint as CEO was further blemished by a legal case where his company acted as a conduit for fake Cisco hardware, involving Chun-Hui Zhao who ran supplier JDC.

"On June 16, 2010, intentionally traffic[king] in a counterfeit Cisco unit.” (J.A. 74.) The evidence adduced at trial showed that in 2010 the U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) purchased an “enhanced” Cisco switch from Memorydealers dot com, which in turn had purchased the switch from JDC. When the switch arrived, officials at FWS became aware that they had received a “standard” model, rather than the enhanced version they had purchased."

Seem familiar? It should.

Its eerily similar to Roger now pushing his altcoin/fork as Bitcoin. As previously stated, once established, bad behaviours aren't wiped away. They just fester and multiply. Its no coincidence that Roger is an ex-felon.

The recidivism rate for ex-convicts that commit new crimes is extremely high. The Bureau of Justice issued a study that showed 76% of ex-convicts are often back in prison after five years. Roger has travelled this road, and it seems he's lapsing into another period of dark desires and borderline criminality.

Having made a lot of money, Roger has managed to exercise the option that most wealthy people do - operate above the system entirely. The phrase "Laws for thee, not for me" have never rung truer. Especially in an age where massive gaps between the extremely rich and the common citizen exist.

This contrast was never clearer than during the "Bitcoin Error Log" interview with John Carvalho. John, a successful business owner was interviewing Ver when a simple disagreement over BCH/BCash usage set Roger off. He erupted, shouting at the screen and making obscene gestures.

Beyond the physical display, was Roger's words "I am a self-made millionaire -- how much does YOUR business make?" tumbling from his entitled lips. This is the rich man, bullying someone because he believes piles of money confer respect and a moral high ground.

Money alone does not do this, but Roger thinks it does. This is important to remember. When called out, or upset, Roger views anyone who isn't part of the "double comma club" as inferior and unworthy. Peasants, "little people", any assortment of derogatory and demeaning terms you can think of.

This impulsive and irresponsible act is the core of Roger's personality (RogerCore, if you will). Crocodile tear apologies aside, the very fact that this happened, and what Ver angrily shouted shows a disturbing look into the mind of someone who desperately wants control and power.

This isn't about "Big Blocks", "Satoshi's Vision", or any other buzzword talking point that Ver spews on the regular. This is simply about owning all the on-ramps - like the bitcoin dot com domain, his own sub-reddit forum where dissenting opinion is buried under downvotes (But no censorship, wink-wink).

Its about making a wallet that promotes BCH and presents it as something else, its about teaming up with a monopolist mining concern such as Bitmain, its about making sure that every possible arrow is pointed at Roger's altfork. Ver has even offered to buy the Bitcoin sub-reddit, more than once.

Its about aspirations of power and financial dictatorship all rolled into a tidy package.

Also, one more point. Every word used in this essay that describes Roger Ver so closely and completely also belongs to another definition - and what would that be?

Roger Ver fits the clinical definition of a psychopath.

Forking Ver, from any project, from any business, is the only way out.