Adam Back Invites Roger Ver to Rejoin the Bitcoin Community
Adam Back, the CEO of Bitcoin company Blockstream and one of the earliest Bitcoin developers, has extended an olive branch to long-time rival Roger Ver. Back is inviting Ver, an early Bitcoin investor turned Bitcoin Cash (BCH) advocate, to return to the Bitcoin community. This invitation comes in response to Ver’s new book, “Hijacking Bitcoin: The Hidden History of BTC,” which claims that the original vision of Bitcoin has been corrupted.
Roger Ver’s Shift to Bitcoin Cash
Roger Ver, once known as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his fervent promotion of the cryptocurrency during its early days, shifted his focus to Bitcoin Cash in 2017. He argued that BCH, with its larger blocks, more closely resembled the original Bitcoin protocol envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto. The BCH community intentionally avoided additional developments like sidechains and layer-2 solutions, considering them centralized and not aligned with Satoshi’s vision of a decentralized network.
Ver’s Book and Back’s Response
In his book, Ver questions whether Bitcoin is truly decentralized and whether it was meant to be digital gold or digital cash. He also addresses the scaling problems of the original design and criticizes the censorship of dissenting voices within the community. In response, Back acknowledges the censorship both he and Ver experienced during the “block size wars” debates.
The History of Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 as a fork of Bitcoin when developers and stakeholders failed to reach an agreement on the network’s future. Both communities claim to be the original blockchain envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto, leading to a rivalry between them. However, outside of this squabble, it is widely accepted that Bitcoin is the original chain, with BTC currently trading for just under $70,000, while Bitcoin Cash is priced at around $400 and has fallen to 17th place in market capitalization.
Back’s Invitation to Ver
In his message to Ver, Back asks him to admit defeat and return to his roots. He points out that Ver was wrong in every way and suffered significant losses in the market. Despite the potentially gloating tone, Back’s invitation may indeed be sincere. He suggests that the Bitcoin network has evolved and now offers the scalability and convenience that Ver desired with bigger blocks. Back invites Ver to join the Bitcoin community and take advantage of new developments like layer-2 solutions.
Hot Take: Mixed Reactions to Back’s Invitation
Adam Back’s invitation to Roger Ver has received mixed reactions from the crypto community. Some Bitcoin enthusiasts support the idea of Ver rejoining the Bitcoin community, while many BCH followers criticize Back’s reply as hypocritical.
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