Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Gold. Bitcoin Diamond. Bitcoin Copper. Bitcoin Kitten? There are 3 views of bitcoin forks... love them, hate them, or fear/indifference. You love them because you support free market principles & practicality, you hate them because you think they are riding off of the bitcoin name, creating $ out of thin air, you fear them because you don’t know how to protect your bitcoin and don’t know what’s going to happen, or you are indifferent about them because you neither know nor care much about the topic.
You can think what you want about forks, but the reality is, there have been several and there will be several more. That’s something you have to accept. It is human nature to be selfish and want to control and centralize power. This is why Satoshi made bitcoin open source. Anyone has the right to make alternate versions and even use the bitcoin name. So no-one is ‘stealing’ bitcoin, or taking its thunder. Bitcoin just hit $10,000 and will soon be tradeable as CME futures... does it sound like bitcoin is suffering?
Bitcoin will never be mainstream as it stands. Who is going to wait an hour for a purchase to clear? Never mind the expensive fee. It has to be improved upon. Yes, maybe forks like bitcoin cash are not even close to a solution that will make it possible for bitcoin to be processed as fast as visa, but they’re a start. This is what free market is - improving on, creating, and offering different solutions. Now you can argue bitcoin forks aren’t really created, they are copied. But that is what open source is.
Read more about open source here: The Bitcoin Schism Shows the Genius of Open Source
https://www.wired.com/2015/08/bitcoin-schism-shows-genius-open-source/
If you think bitcoin as it stands is currently decentralized, you’re mistaken. There are a handful of powerful mining companies with specialized equipment. No random person can just up and mine bitcoin any more. So you should welcome every fork that comes along which attempts to make the coin more decentralized. People will naturally stick to the most trusted version. Miners will not waste their resources mining an unsupported version. And in fact, forks discourage rogue miners from trying to grasp too much power. Don’t like Roger Ver? Buy bitcoin gold. Don't like their vision? Buy bitcoin diamond.
I quite like bitcoin diamond. It is a privacy bitcoin with bigger blocks. I am hoping it gains adoption. (Assuming it fulfills its goals and proves itself reputable). You can read more about bitcoin diamond here: http://cryptocurrencyfacts.com/2017/11/24/bitcoin-diamond-explained/
But bitcoin forks will create bad publicity! And noobs will confuse bitcoin with all the other bitcoin versions! No and likely no. Think about the internet. How many fake sites and different web versions there are of major companies? Do people have any problem finding the right site? Generally not. If you can’t find the proper version or take the time to do 2 minutes of research, you might not want to be investing. As for the bitcoin image, if bitcoin is strong enough it will survive, and thrive. (And this appears to be the case). What gives more confidence than the incredible $10,000 bitcoin price tag against a multitude of competing hard forks?
Finally, there are more forks coming - hallelujah! Here is a list:
Bitcoin Silver (Dec 2017)
Bitcoin Unlimited (early 2018)
Super Bitcoin (early 2018)
Super Bitcoin (Dec 15)
Bitcoin Platinum (Dec 23/24)
Bitcoin Uranium (Dec 31)
Bitcoin Cash Plus (Jan 2)
Bitcoin Kitten??? (my personal favorite)
*some of these dates may not be completely accurate, they arrive according to specific block.
Also, check out possible upcoming bitcoin forks:
https://hype.codes/bitcoin-possible-upcoming-hard-forks
Great article on the merits of forking & the free market: https://hackernoon.com/why-hard-forks-are-good-for-bitcoin-a966451d3fd6
The long and short of it is, bitcoin doesn’t need protecting. It is strong enough without.
Cheers!
If you love hard forks, or soft forks, or bitcoin battles, you might like this Bitcoin Wars Tshirt. Sorry, only available for US residents. (Amazon will only deliver these types of shirts within USA).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077SN2WDZ?customId=B0752XJYNL&th=1
You can also check out Bitcoin Christmas tshirts here: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=w_bl_sl_s_ap_web_7141123011?ie=UTF8&node=7141123011&field-brandtextbin=EVA+Bitcoin+%26+Cryptocurrency+Shirts
