The Core vs. Knots dispute from OP_RETURN policy change (Core v30's - 2025) to BIP-110's failed consensus proposal days ago consumed an enormous amount of community attention and goodwill over what started as a relay policy disagreement and escalated into a fight over who sets those rules.
Both sides saw themselves as defending Bitcoin's infrastructure, one against data bloat and node costs, the other against censorship and precedent-setting restrictions. These are important concerns and the people who spent a year on them weren't being petty or frivolous.
For the people watching from outside, they witnessed the robustness of Bitcoin's consensus in real time. BIP-110 needed 55% miner support to lock in early, but it only got 2.5%.
Despite it all, I can't help but think that the energy spent on this governance fight with a two-block splinter chain and heated debates came at the cost of attention that would have otherwise gone into building the financial ecosystems Bitcoin was designed to enable.
I doubt we have even tapped into 1% of Taproot's potential for building financial infrastructure that can empower people, enable global trade, and benefit billions worldwide. It's easy to get caught up fighting but we should never lose sight of what matters.
Keep building. We have so much work ahead of us.
Both sides saw themselves as defending Bitcoin's infrastructure, one against data bloat and node costs, the other against censorship and precedent-setting restrictions. These are important concerns and the people who spent a year on them weren't being petty or frivolous.
For the people watching from outside, they witnessed the robustness of Bitcoin's consensus in real time. BIP-110 needed 55% miner support to lock in early, but it only got 2.5%.
Despite it all, I can't help but think that the energy spent on this governance fight with a two-block splinter chain and heated debates came at the cost of attention that would have otherwise gone into building the financial ecosystems Bitcoin was designed to enable.
I doubt we have even tapped into 1% of Taproot's potential for building financial infrastructure that can empower people, enable global trade, and benefit billions worldwide. It's easy to get caught up fighting but we should never lose sight of what matters.
Keep building. We have so much work ahead of us.
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