The Choice Conundrum – A perspective on Segwit2x

Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without!

The above quote from the 2003 hit – Matrix Reloaded, seems quite an apt fit for the situation that we are currently in. The title of this article might seem like an oxymoron to many, but given the current context of Segwit2x, ‘choice’ might not be the best thing that’s happening in the world of Bitcoin right now!

Merriam Webster describes the word ‘conundrum’ as an intricate & difficult problem, which is not something positive for sure. One might ask, why would I associate such a word with the world of Crypto Currency where everything at this point of time seems surreal, utopian, golden…something straight out of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Therein, lies the issue; too many choices can influence our decision-making process, leading to overwhelming, an inability to choose or most importantly poor/wrong choices. And this is true for the masses, for people like you and me, who are sitting at the edge of this technology revolution, waiting for the right moment to dip our feet and experience the tide.

If the difference between Bitcoin and Blockchain and Ethereum and Smart Contracts wasn’t enough to cause confusion, we now have Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold and not to mention the original Bitcoin to add to the mess. I am a millennial with a fair amount of technical know-how, but even for me, to follow the various forks and the underlying subtleties is too much to comprehend.

Let me articulate the current situation so that people understand the dynamics of this upcoming fork and what it entails. The aim is to educate and not to add to the existing layers of complexity by throwing in jargons, fancy definitions or unwanted (and unwarranted) perspective/opinions.

For the uninitiated, Bitcoin is a digital currency (you can call it a computer program if you wish), which can be used for monetary transactions or otherwise, that are then stored in a sequence (called a blockchain) on a distributed network of computer systems globally. The inherent nature of Bitcoin is decentralized – by the people, for the people! Segwit2x is the upcoming fork (consider this as an update to the existing software) which intends to bring in some major upgrades to the block size, moving it up to 2MB from 1MB (the more the merrier right!). With earlier forks, people who held bitcoins did not bother much since If you held bitcoin on certain exchanges (or your own wallet), you will receive the new cryptocurrency.

Things will not be as simple once Segwit2x is implemented. Firstly, it’s a hard fork i.e. you would need to update your software or else you will no longer be part of the network. The outcomes of the fork itself is like a throw of dice since no one is able to correctly predict how it will impact the overall Bitcoin ecosystem. Three possibilities loom:

1.     Everyone embraces the change and the crypto world is once again a happy-go-lucky place for everyone to live and thrive

2.    There is a split – people in favor and people against. We end up with 2 possible blockchains, one for the old bitcoin and one for the new one

3.    Change is rebuffed – no one adopts the new bitcoin and we are all back to the comfort and coziness of the good old bitcoin household

It’s the second scenario which is of most concern to the bitcoin community. While ‘miners’ and various businesses have thrown their weight behind Segwit2x, there is a substantial section of ‘developers’ and ‘node operators’ who are not as enthusiastic about this fork.

Both factions have valid arguments to rest their case…while those in favor argue that the underlying technology behind bitcoin has become laggard and hence it is losing ground to other cryptocurrencies, those against are rightfully concerned that Segwit2x tilts the balance of power in favor of miners and businesses. This particularly goes against the essence of bitcoin since it would in a way lead to centralizing decision-making and playing to the hands of a centralized group. Additionally, each of them have conflicting views on how bitcoin should be perceived going forward – bitcoin as an alternative to various fiat currencies (fancy term for regular currencies such as dollar, rupees, yen etc.) versus Bitcoin as a store of value, and not just a payment network!!!

All said and done, I personally feel that the end user might end up in a hapless situation and decide to stay put, dismissing the idea of embracing the technology (blockchain) as a whole. This technology has the potential to change the way we buy and sell, interact with government and verify the authenticity of everything from property titles to vegetables. It combines the openness of the internet with the security of cryptography to give everyone a faster, safer way to verify key information and establish trust. However, the way things are going it seems that the idea of bitcoin is getting politicized as a whole.

As I parting note, I would just say that, even with all the churn ongoing at this point of time, we ought to give this technology some more time. This kind of technology comes once in a lifetime and deserves more than just a fleeting attention from the wider community.