Roger Ver on Steemit: Why Bitcoin Jesus Must Be Heard

OR: The Bitcoin Blocksize Debate: What Can You Do?

Roger Ver joined Steemit today. Pleased as punch, or whatever other thing is really pleased. I had been wondering why he wasn't here, if he was going to join, or if maybe there was some underlying and unstated political reason he was avoiding the site. Anyway, today he joined.

As an amateur Bitcoin enthusiast--but also as someone who is holding more Bitcoin than he ever has before, thanks to Steemit--I am more interested than ever in the ongoing Bitcoin blockchain blocksize debate, and the specifics of the whole thing, in general.

Specifics, in general? Maybe I need to sleep. But...no, maybe on second thought that makes a lot of sense. I know the general details, which help me, even as a relative newb, to guess at the specific battles going on behind the scenes. This article is an excellent resource for anyone seeking to understand the nature of the debate more clearly.

I am aware of the generalities of the debate. The Bitcoin Core people don't want to expand the blocksize limit, and the Bitcoin Classic people do. There is a procedure for implementing changes to code, but a consensus cannot seem to be reached. It's a stalemate in the most profound sense of the word.

Just today one of my friends on Facebook was vocalizing his disappointment with the lagging transaction times and slow confirmations now plaguing the Bitcoin network.

"What's going on? When I first started using Bitcoin it was so fast and easy. Now it's slow and inconvenient."

And, I might add, a bit spooky. Nobody likes to leave money floating around in limbo for any extended period of time.

Why Bitcoin Jesus Must Be Heard

Look. Bitcoin is changing the world. Blockchain technology itself is changing the world. There is a quote from Mr. Ver that is worth repeating multiple times over:

For me. This is it. Freedom via decentralization and voluntary organization. If Bitcoin is ever going to compete successfully with the fiat paper garbage everyone has been forced to use up until this point, it has to be accessible.

As Ver has pointed out already, increasing the blocksize will potentially bring in many more users and increase transaction volume dramatically (which some of the core developers are worried about) but it would also encourage the creation of thousands more nodes, rendering the network more decentralized than ever.

Look. I am no expert, but Bitcoin is something I am very in love with. If nobody can use it, or transact with it, it could become a dinosaur. Personally, I don't see that happening. Maybe the Bitcoin Core team has a point. Maybe other networks could facilitate faster transaction times with the Bitcoin blockchain protocol and size limit itself remaining essentially unchanged. But wouldn't that just mean the Bitcoin network is kind of irrelevant?

If we have to depend on a zillion other services to make something work, is the original service itself that good?

For me it is this: Satoshi Nakamoto himself was never against expansion. In my own simple way, this tells me everything I need to know. If you want people to come to the water, it has to be fresh. Nobody wants to drink pond scum. If Bitcoin stagnates, it's not good for anyone involved, and definitely no good for the rest of the world at large, torn by war, poverty, and desperately in need of sound money and a stable currency.

So what can we do to end the Bitcoin Blocksize debate?

Join "Jesus" and speak out, as we, the individual users of the currency, are the only ones who ultimately decide if it has any value at all.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Roger Ver brings to the table here on Steemit, and to his impact and influence resonating throughout this platform to bring about real and practical change to the Bitcoin blockchain itself.

Peace to you, and thank you, Mr. Ver!

Sincerely,

Bitcoin Baranabus (a lowly but passionate enthusiast)

---

Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist residing in Niigata, Japan.