I've been a big believer in the idea of peer-to-peer electronic cash ever since I first heard about Bitcoin. As you might know, the unfortunate "scaling debate" of 2013-2017 necessitated the creation of Bitcoin Cash to continue the Bitcoin project, which is unimpinged by the inappropriate 1MB block size limit.
Bitcoin Cash has had its challenges, but despite that, has quite a strong community that is building great things.
Before the pandemic, the focus of the BCH community was in debating the controversial IFP (Infrastructure Funding Plan). Initially I was a proponent of the plan, and later changed my mind.
The BCH network has upgraded today and the IFP was not activated. But whether you were for, or against the IFP, the good news is that Bitcoin Cash has emerged from the debate much stronger.
The issue of funding infrastructure got a much needed spotlight and attention.
The topic of funding development via coinbase rewards was thoroughly discussed, debated, dissected, and analyzed.
The miners took an active role in making protocol decisions.
A fresh implementation (BCHN) arose to provide healthy competition to Bitcoin ABC, and is gaining traction with mining share.
As a result of competitive pressure, ABC was compelled to become more professional and hired a spokesperson.
The community proved itself resilient, capable, and decentralized -- able to reject a truly contentious change even when the 'lead' implementation desired it.
Many node projects were able to raise funds voluntarily.
Although some people seem to be upset that the BCH community is 'divided' as far as which node implementation they support, I think that's ok. That's politics and it's always going to be there. (Better "there" than in the protocol via the IFP, but I digress).
The IFP drama was a blessing in disguise. The lead implementation model was the reality for a few years and it served us well. Now we seem to be entering the multiple implementation model, assuming BCHN sticks around. And we survived the drama and got to this point, stronger, wiser, and more educated than before.
Bitcoin Cash is still, in my opinion, the best cryptocurrency project thanks to its focus on being peer-to-peer cash for the world, and its already established network effect with a growing base of users. I'll admit it felt like we were sailing in some rough seas during the IFP debate, but the storm has passed and the ship is on course!
This is spin. There was no compulsion. I simply stepped up. If more people would step up more often, we would have fewer problems.