Bitcoin Cash (BCH) holders look certain to be in for some free coins come this November, when the ongoing confrontation between disparate groups in the coin’s community will reach its climax in a hash war and subsequent chain split.
The conflict in the BCH camp arose when lead developer, Amaury Séchet, announced the inclusion of code in the next upgrade which would see 8% of the Bitcoin Cash block reward siphoned directly to him.
Séchet maintains that developers cannot survive on bread alone and that the IFP (Infrastructure Funding Plan), or miner’s tax, is a reasonable way of funding the coin’s development.
However, that didn’t sit well with a large section (perhaps majority) of the coin’s community, who saw Séchet’s move as akin to a power grab. Like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash has several different node implementations competing to be the most popular, and under Séchet’s miner’s tax, only his particular implementation (known as ABC) would receive funding.
Vocal Bitcoin Cash supporter, and executive chairman of Bitcoin.com, Roger Ver, voiced opposition to Séchet’s plans. On August 31, Ver posted tweet comparing Séchet’s actions to that of a Soviet-style central planner. He wrote:
“Diverting part of the Bitcoin Cash block reward to pay a single development team is a Soviet style central planner’s dream come true.”
Séchet’s desire to see Bitcoin Cash’s funding come directly from the coin itself is not unheard of in the cryptocurrency space. Dash has a similar mechanism in place, while a percentage of Zcash’s mining rewards go straight to its founders.
Séchet argues that developers must be paid for the work they do, or else Bitcoin Cash risks failing to achieve its aims. He has since started referring to those who opposed his plans as “Bitsheviks,” claiming they only want something for nothing.
The other side levels the same claims at Séchet and argue that he should either gather donations or create a product that the free market will reward him for. Some even argue that holding BCH coins should be enough incentive and reward in itself, reasoning that if the developer does well, so too will the coin.
An estimated 70% of Bitcoin Cash’s hash power has signaled its intentions to ignore the ABC code upgrade, while Séchet still intends to push it through. Both sides wish to portray the other as the one initiating the hard fork since both sides hope to retain the BCH ticker symbol on exchanges after the split occurs.
Either way, anyone holding Bitcoin Cash come November 15 will receive an equal amount of free coins when the hard fork takes place. How much either coin will be worth in the aftermath, however, is anyone’s guess.