Blockchain networks are permissionless when offering a standard decentralization. Anyone can participate in the network and contribute code or create private or public developments on top of the blockchain.
A blockchain community may proceed with a certain approach, yet, a sidechain is not part of its consensus. It is a different entity that adds value to the main chain and operates independently.
When innovation is adding value to the main network, this is always a positive development.
Such is the smartBCH network, a sidechain to Bitcoin Cash, operating with the use of Bitcoin Cash miners as validators as an approach to reach a higher decentralization level.
It is an admirable development introducing cost-efficient smart contracts through a decentralized environment. Smart BCH has a competitive advantage against Ethereum (low fees) and an edge against the rest sidechains (decentralization).
Let's Burn 100k BCH - What Can You Do About It?
The main reason behind blockchain networks failures is centralization. There are multiple examples, with the most obvious being the IBM blockchain. A “private” blockchain that offered nothing else than a private ledger. It was no different than just an excel spreadsheet (not even distributed), as IBM completely missed the point (just like banks and governments).
Blockchain networks fail because of centralization, not just in mining but also in development.
This is the point where game theory is included since the rewards are equally spread between participants, yet, at some point, malicious actors will suddenly appear asking for more without the ability or desire to proceed with adopting innovation. Some feel their privileges are threatened, or just are left behind and missed the progress.
Maybe there are still many devs around, having BTC as an example of processing development, where nothing noticeable happens and progress has stagnated for over a decade.
Smart Contracts
Smart Contracts is a revolutionary technology that will shape finance and governance for the rest of the century.
Ignoring progress is not wise especially for developers, yet we already know that often personal and institutional interests will strive to hinder progress until any breakthrough and revolutionary technology is tamed.
SmartBCH is the main development on top of Bitcoin Cash today.
Some chose to embrace it as an innovative technology, and others may choose to sit back and not produce anything on smartBCH. There is no requirement to change anything on Bitcoin Cash on any level. It is a development on top of a network.
There is no commitment involved either in this. SmartBCH is offering a unique alternative to Ethereum and the adoption so far has been amazing. There is no prerequisite to join either.
Nobody forced changes to the Bitcoin Cash code to enable smartBCH or integrate it into the main network. This is the essence of building on top of a network and expanding its potential.
Bitcoin Cash is a robust network and any kind of sidechain adoption is for a different scope. Bitcoin Cash doesn't suffer from inherent scalability flaws like BTC and Ethereum where sidechains are promoted as an ailment to the inabilities of these blockchains.
SmartBCH expands into a vast world of opportunities, as smart contracts will be an integral part of the new economy with vast digital and real-world applications.
As with every new development, there are always naysayers. There is a Chinese proverb, though:
When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills.
In conclusion: Keep Contributing.
Fees are burned, (at a low rate), and this is not a threat but a blockchain feature. Burn addresses are a feature.
Moreover, a total of about 5-6 million Bitcoins are considered today "lost" (irretrievable).
What should we do about it? Complain that people lose their keys and Bitcoins are left orphaned without anyone able to access them?
125BCH have been burned so far. Yet, even in the case this number was 100,000 BCH does it make any difference?
Anyone is allowed to buy 100,000BCH and just transfer them to a burn address.
We can literally set fire to our fiat cash as well if this pleases us and there is no need to ask for permission.
It is clear how blockchain networks and smartBCH work. They are completely transparent networks and the code is open source for anyone to audit. This was always a feature of all blockchain financial networks.
smartBCH decided to burn half the BCH from fees, and this is it, there is simply nothing to challenge since this is the consensus in this network. It is not the Bitcoin Cash community that decided how a third party will deal with fees on the services it offers. It could have been a private network instead of one relying on Bitcoin miners for decentralization.
You can't counter any fact on why should anyone burn BCH, and of course the argument that we have less BCH to cover for mass adoption is also invalid. Once again, you can't do anything about the 5-6 million lost BCH. The total supply is not 21 million Bitcoins. Within more decades the irretrievable Bitcoins number can even reach 10 million.
People, still lose their keys. Also, people still take their keys with them in the afterlife.
It is a topic that has been discussed in length and it doesn't require a lot of conversation as Satoshi has already explained:
Burned coins are lost coins. Coins that are gone forever. Think of it as a donation to everyone.
An argument against a burn mechanism would only be valid if this is about the Bitcoin Cash code implementation and would require consensus. There is no argument otherwise.
Yet, if smartBCH decides to stop the burn process, then again it is the overwhelming number of participants in this community (smartBCH) that will decide so.
In any terms, as a user of smartBCH, I will keep using the sidechain for the amazing DeFi and NFT opportunities it presents and the future developments within the smart contracts field. SmartBCH is not a threat but what the name suggests.
A sidechain that enables smart contracts using BCH as gas.
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The non-financial and quasi-financial use cases of smartBCH may get more attention in the future.