The State of Decentralization In The Bitcoin Space

When it comes to Bitcoin development itself, there are some people who strongly feel a few people are controlling the future of this popular digital currency. There are quite a  few different Bitcoin Core contributors, but the overall decision-making seems to revolve around ideas by the same few individuals. Ever since Bitcoin XT started rearing its head, the community has been divided into a few camps.

Also read: Credit Card Payment Protocol Unsafe – Bitcoin is A Global Solution

What Do We Want? Decentralized Bitcoin Development!

Some people fail to realize there is no mandatory choice when it comes to running Bitcoin software on one’s devices. Regardless of whether you run Bitcoin Core, Bitcoin XT, Armory, or any other wallet available to you, you will always be a part of the Bitcoin network itself. After all, the Bitcoin source code is publicly available for anyone to see and play around with.

That being said, when it comes to making effective changes to Bitcoin as a protocol, the options become more limited. Right now, the main development takes places under the Bitcoin Core banner, although depending on how the block size debate will turn out, Bitcoin XT could be a worthy contender.

It is funny that people flock to Bitcoin because they have choices, alternatives, and open source tools at their disposal, yet it is not seen as decentralization. There are many facets to decentralizing a currency like Bitcoin, and the software wallets are just the tip of the iceberg. Different solutions provide different ideas, which can only lead to further innovation.

Decentralizing Bitcoin development is already here, and it has been for quite some time now. Developers from all over the world can contribute to the future of the Bitcoin protocol, and make their suggestions publicly available on GitHub. It doesn’t get more decentralized than that in the world of software, that much is certain.

However, Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin XT developers have to put in certain safeguards as well. The recent Bitcoin block size debate pointed out a very critical issue in the Bitcoin infrastructure: scalability. True to its decentralized nature, various proposals and ideas were brought to the table and it is now up to the community to decide which solution will work best.

Different options create different trains of thoughts and projections for the future. Some people are pro-Bitcoin Core, others are pro-Bitcoin XT, and yet others don’t like either solution all that much. It is impossible to please everyone, and every possible solution raises questions that need to be answered promptly.

Addressing Key Issues Before It Is Too Late

Other than the block size debate, there are some other issues that will need to be addressed by Bitcoin developers in the near future. A lot of community members are wondering where the allegiance of Bitcoin Core developers lies exactly as rumors about creating a centralized enforced fee structure keep rearing their ugly heads.

Additionally, there is the discussion of Bitcoin XT becoming an altcoin instead of a different set of features compared to Bitcoin Core. Granted, Bitcoin XT would require a hard fork of the blockchain, which technically makes it a different digital currency. Reaching a consensus on the block size debate needs to happen very soon, or the Bitcoin community will continue to destroy itself from within.

Source: Reddit

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