Saturday, November 14th, 2020, 1 day before the fork
I honestly have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow. I'm not a miner, nor am I in contact with miners. I'm just putting my faith in the idea that there must be others out there who value merit over politics.
Maybe you think my faith is misplaced, and I admit I'll feel much better once I see the first few ABC blocks come in, whether that takes minutes, or hours (hopefully not days), but no matter how long it takes I know that the moment the first ABC block is mined, history will have been made, and it will signal that the new coinbase rule is born.
Recently some have been saying what a big moment this is because it's the first time a lead implementation team has been rejected in favor of a new team, but I think those people are focused on the wrong thing.
Instead I'm focused on the fact that this is the first time protocol developers will have the ability to extract value from the market through their proof of work, just as miners extract value through theirs. Going back to January 3rd, 2009, the Bitcoin project has been maintained through the work of volunteers, sponsors, donations, or outside investors. But for the first time in its nearly 12 year history, there will be a branch of Bitcoin that will fund development directly through the coinbase reward, aligning the incentives of both miners and developers, hopefully ushering in a new era of Bitcoin characterized by professionalization in development.
Just as we wouldn't want our electricity company to rely on donations and volunteers to keep itself running, why would we want our financial system to run that way?
It's time for Bitcoin to evolve and have the ability to pay for its own maintenance and growth. I want to see Bitcoin become the first public good that is truly public, only made possible because everything will be on the blockchain and in open view.
While everyone else celebrates BTC approaching its all time high, I will be celebrating history being made with the activation of the new coinbase rule and the beginning of the next era of Bitcoin.
Very nicely put. Let us see what the morrow bring!
Thank you for your article and all the best,