There have been many attempts to successfully fork Bitcoin over the past few years. Most of these efforts have been in vain, which is to be expected. Bitcoin Classic was one of the earliest attempts in this regard. Unfortunately, that currency is no more, and users are being advised to switch over to Bitcoin Cash. That’s not surprising, considering most people supporting Classic are also on the BCH bandwagon.
Bitcoin Classic Bites the Dust
Most people will readily acknowledge that the concept of Bitcoin Classic had some merit at first. Bitcoin is anything but a perfect cryptocurrency, and a lot of its issues can be solved in different ways. Those differences of opinion often create unnecessary friction in the world of Bitcoin development, to say the least. Bitcoin Classic was one of several attempts to create a different form of Bitcoin, even though it never gained any major traction.
The project was supported by a group of individuals who have always disagreed with Bitcoin Core, by the look of things. At one point, Bitcoin Classic’s marketing team got so aggressive that they decided to mimic Coca-Cola’s advertising model and turn it into a Bitcoin meme of sorts. While most people got a good chuckle out of that, Bitcoin Classic never succeeded in gaining any major traction whatsoever.
Even the massive number of Bitcoin Classic nodes launching on the network didn’t do all that much to help this project. As it happened, someone spun up hundreds of nodes on a cheap VPS to make it look as if Bitcoin Classic was suddenly getting a lot of support from cryptocurrency enthusiasts. A lot of these nodes eventually disappeared when it became clear that the project would not dethrone Bitcoin whatsoever. Political games in Bitcoin have been far too common over the years, and Classic was a clear example of such shenanigans.
All of this doesn’t mean Bitcoin Classic wasn’t a decent project, even though it never amounted to much either. After nearly two years of work, the team has finally decided to throw in the towel and focus on bigger and better things. According to the Classic website, users are now advised to check out Bitcoin Cash, as it is the closest iteration of Bitcoin “as Satoshi indicated as his goal”. Somehow, the team feels its mission has been achieved in the form of Bitcoin Cash. It remains to be seen if their assessment is correct in this regard.
Considering the number of familiar faces supporting Bitcoin Cash, it is evident a lot of original Classic supporters have simply hopped on the former’s bandwagon in an effort to be successful. Whether or not Bitcoin Cash ever threatens Bitcoin’s status as the king of cryptocurrencies, these political differences of opinion will remain entrenched for quite some time to come. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and preferences, of course. If BCH gets enough support, it may become the new Bitcoin for all we know.
In the end, it is somewhat sad to see Bitcoin Classic come to an end. Then again, a lot of people forgot this project was still around in 2017, mainly because it almost turned into an obscure project. Whether or not all its developers and supporters will flock to BCH in the coming weeks and months remains to be determined. It is an interesting development in the world of Bitcoin; that much is evident.
