Bitcoin Advocates Flare Up Over WSJ’s Claim About Network
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has incurred the wrath of Bitcoiners in its recent article after claiming that a small group of individuals controls the Bitcoin network. According to the WSJ report, the group “Bitcoin maintainers” manages the entire network.
The Bitcoin Saviors
According to the author of the WSJ article, the Bitcoin network, widely known as the “Bitcoin Core,” is under the control of six maintainers who ensure the smooth running of the system. It is worth noting that Bitcoin Core is an open-source application that updates the Bitcoin ledger on the network’s nodes.
In addition, it is responsible for setting the network’s restrictions and how the nodes operate. Meanwhile, the author of the WSJ article believes that the maintainers, at least once, secretly correct any flaws in the Bitcoin network that could harm the value of the leading crypto asset.
For example, in 2018, a developer named Matt Corallo reported finding a purported inflation flaw in a Bitcoin code. Furthermore, the article stated that Bitcoin maintainers are the successors of the network’s anonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.
However, the article acknowledged that many community developers, also known as helpers, assist with maintaining the Bitcoin network and ensuring that the software is functioning optimally. The main difference between the community developers and the core maintainers is the ability to create or alter a code and integrate them into the network’s GitHub repository.
Interestingly, four members of the maintenance team of the Bitcoin network have resigned due to intense workloads or legal actions. In 2009, the total number of maintainers in the Bitcoin network was said to be 17.
According to Bitcoin coder Jameson Lopp, the network is prone to attacks when maintenance becomes less valuable. Hence, all technologies need human efforts to maintain them, no matter how sophisticated.
Conflicts Of Interests?
Moreover, skeptics opposed to having maintainers noted that the use of Bitcoin Core conflicts with the networks’ aim of achieving complete decentralization. The WSJ report also questions the possible use of grants and funding to maintain the network’s core and whether there is a conflict of interest.
As the debate over the status of the USD as the world’s reserve currency and BTC as its possible replacement continues to rage on, Bitcoin advocates have resorted to using jokes to drive home their points. Meanwhile, the head analyst at Blockware Solutions, Joe Burnett, responded to the WSJ post that maintainers do not control Bitcoin as the WSJ article suggests.
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