Bitcoin Has a Leader Problem
Sometimes one of the hardest things in life is to admit that you actually have a problem. It is only after finally accepting this fact, that you can begin to fix your situation. This statement not only applies directly to Bitcoin but is amplified by 100. What makes Bitcoin so great is the community around it and its incredible conviction in the asset. Conviction that cannot be shaken no matter how low prices go, and how much FUD there is in the market. This is why Bitcoin cannot be broken, and also why it is the strongest cryptocurrency in the market.
With that said, Bitcoin’s biggest strength is also one of its greatest weaknesses.
Bitcoin is currently going through an identity problem. One side of the community, Bitcoin maximalists, believes that the BTC protocol is sacred and is perfect as it is. That we should only be focusing on building on it with 2nd layers and aiming for the adoption of countries and corporations. This group of people believes that Bitcoin is nearly a finished project and that there are no gods in Bitcoin. They will love you while you live up to the “Bitcoin maxi standard,” but will send you into exile and try to cancel you the moment you go against the grain.
These people with strong conviction and beliefs are part of the reason that Bitcoin has been able to survive up until now. Surviving countless forks, the blocksize war, threats of owning Bitcoin becoming illegal, hacks, and endless FUD.
However, somewhere along the way, their strong beliefs have caused them to be unwilling to listen to others with different opinions. Unwilling to consider that Bitcoin could be improved, should be improved, and needs to be improved.
Many of these people forget that there was a time when all of the innovation and development was happening on Bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto himself was a fan of NFTs, was willing to increase the blocksize of Bitcoin, and even saw merit in the existence of other blockchains. Vitalik Buterin wanted to build Ethereum on top of Bitcoin but was shunned by Bitcoin Maxis.
For the last handful of years, Bitcoiners have depended on the monetary aspect of Bitcoin causing mass adoption to take place. That the price going up would eventually cause a stampede rush back toward Bitcoin. This would cause the Lightning Network to see a giant increase in users and scaling. All with the belief that all you need is Bitcoin, and eventually everything will be built on top of it.
However, while we were waiting for the price to go up, development stagnated. Suddenly Bitcoin didn’t have a voice, and nothing could be agreed upon. Should the main Bitcoin protocol ever see a major upgrade again? Should the blocksize be increased? Are NFTs/Ordinals and BRC20 tokens a valid use of precious BTC blocks? Should we be attempting to radically update and innovate on Bitcoin? These are all questions that are hotly debated in Bitcoin, and nothing can be agreed upon.
And so nothing happened.
Satoshi Nakamoto leaving Bitcoin was the decision that allowed BTC to finally become fully decentralized and not dependent on one person. With decentralization also comes the fact that there is no leader. No one that we can look to, or respect enough to help shape the future of Bitcoin. No one is allowed to have ideas that will be listened to by everyone with an open mind.
Bitcoin maxis will tell you this is a strength. That having someone as a leader today such as Satoshi or Vitalik Buterin would be a weakness. But, there is no denying that it also makes the progress of Bitcoin much slower as well.
The solution is that Bitcoin doesn’t need a single leader who is in charge. Instead, it needs a group of leaders who are universally well-respected. People that will be listened to. People who are actually allowed to have ideas in Bitcoin.
This is the key that will unlock innovation in Bitcoin again, and be the catalyst that brings mainstream adoption. Coincidentally, this is also the catalyst that will cause the price of Bitcoin to soar.
How about you? Does Bitcoin need a group of leaders to bring back innovation
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As always, thank you for reading!