Let's recap.

On February 15th, 2020, the majority node implementation, Bitcoin ABC, announced without discussion that they would be implementing an off-roadmap contentious change to the BCH protocol. Bitcoin ABC did not consult with other node implementations before announcing this change, nor was the community polled. This announcement was made 275 days ago.

Despite a decision "already being made", debate ensued--philosophical, technological, and political. In the end, an opposition manifested, and when the IFPv1 was defeated in May 2020, there was a sigh of relief: no matter which side of the equation you fell on, the conflict was over. The conversation would surely continue after a reprieve, but we'd have time to heal and come to social consensus before codifying any changes into the blockchain.

However, 160 days later, a completely separate conflict arose, originating once again from Bitcoin ABC. A change that was thought to be unanimous within the ecosystem and a victory in the name of collaboration, the ASERT DAA, was suddenly discarded for a privately developed algorithm. This different implementation objectively provided zero benefit and was put upon the ecosystem without conversation or peer-review. Once more, the community rallied; an opposition formed and Grasberg was defeated and ASERT prevailed.

15 days later, the most recent conflict was forced upon the community: IFPv2. The community once again, was placed back into the fire before any healing took place.

Each of these conflicts spurred from unilateral decisions being made by one organization against many. Each of the rallying oppositions were done collaboratively between multiple other implementations, business operators, and investors. The work done behind the scenes for each of these battles was tremendous and I am humbled to have been able to play a small part. The tenacity of my peers inspires me, and I am grateful to work beside them.

I must emphasize: each battle was not won passively. It was an active and coordinated effort. While none of us risked nothing, many of us risked everything. It was exhausting, but also awe-inspiring. I have seen great teamwork and competence within the BCH ecosystem, and I am confident we can overcome any unknown challenges ahead.

Looking forward.

For 275 days, we have been in conflict, and for some, this has been an even longer endeavor.

I'm no stranger to conflict. I came from a broken home and was a scrapper as a kid. I fought in the Iraq war as a young adult. I transitioned from soldier to civilian during the great recession of 2008. I started my own business in 2011 and had to make difficult choices to keep it alive while going to college. I had my first child during the first days of the Covid-19 lockdown. Life is challenge, life is conflict, life is pain.

However, why have the last 275 days been so exhausting, and frankly, so frustrating? From my perspective, all of the BCH in-fighting from the last year has been so completely unproductive--and furthermore, so completely unnecessary. The issues have been back-to-back, without reprieve. We as people need to reflect, learn, and heal from the trials we face, and we haven't been given the opportunity to do that--at least not within the past 275 days.

With this battle over, and with it some new distribution of power, I hope we can take a reprieve as a community. Let's lick our wounds, and forgive our trespasses. More importantly, let's learn from our mistakes and from our victories. Remember it's not evil to have a different point of view and a different opinion. It's okay to disagree--respectfully. Remember the actions of those who have been acting dishonestly and without respect. Take a breath, recover from this moment, and ready yourself for the future.

We've triumphed today and it's important to celebrate that. However, don't gloat, don't hate, and don't alienate. Let's regroup and let's heal together. We have more important and more fruitful battles to win. Let's face those challenges stronger, wiser, and united.