Two cryptocurrency heavyweights have wagered 250 BTC on the value of bitcoin versions — should another hard fork happen in November. Litecoin creator and “2x” opponent Charlie Lee offered the bet over Twitter, and “Bitcoin Jesus” Roger Ver accepted it.
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Would 2X SegWit Bitcoin Be Worth More Than SegWit-Only Bitcoin?
At issue is (a) whether Bitcoin should hard-fork in November to double the block size, and (b) the outcome of such a fork. “2X” refers to the second half of the “SegWit2x” roadmap, planned under the “New York Agreement” (NYA) that led major bitcoin businesses to finally support SegWit.
Since the 2X part of the agreement involves larger blocks and a hard fork, many oppose it. Opponents include Bitcoin Core developers, who were not part of the NYA.
Lee first aimed his bet offer at Eric Voorhees, Jeff Garzik and Barry Silbert:
Lets do a public 1:1 trade. My Segwit2x 250 BTC for your non-2x 250 BTC after Nov HF. No HF, no trade. @jgarzik @ErikVoorhees @barrysilbert
— Charlie Lee (@SatoshiLite) September 29, 2017
But a few hours later it was Roger Ver who took up the offer, with his trademark comment on Bitcoin economic theories:
Why wasn't invited? I'll gladly accept! You are economically illiterate if you think restricting the supply of block space is a good thing. https://t.co/oEneGQeCql
— Roger Ver (@rogerkver) September 29, 2017
Deal!
— Charlie Lee (@SatoshiLite) September 29, 2017
Bet About 2X Blocks, Not Bitcoin Cash
Note this bet is not about Bitcoin Cash. There’s a chance there will be another “bigger block” version of Bitcoin later this year to challenge the “original” or “smaller block” version.
There are still plenty of people who want an on-chain scaling solution but don’t necessarily want to support Bitcoin Cash if it only has minority miner support. They say keeping blocks smaller pushes users to second-layer services like lightning network, which are still untested on a mass scale and (for now) less-trusted.
Therefore, the 1st August hard fork didn’t settle the issue.
Roger, I didn't include you initially b/c I thought you were focused on Bitcoin Cash now. Speaking of which, no BCH blocks in 6 hours. 🤦♂️
— Charlie Lee (@SatoshiLite) September 29, 2017
It should also be noted that Bitcoin blocks are calculated differently post-SegWit, and are not necessarily limited to 1MB. They are now determined by “block weight” which sometimes results in sizes slightly over 1MB.
On the other hand, many Bitcoiners are growing weary of the debate in general — or at least, the way it’s being conducted:
Wish there weren't so many personal attacks and team sports in this debate. Poisons the well and crowds out reasonable discussion.
— buck (@BuckPerley) September 29, 2017
In the meantime, though, both “sides” accuse the other of hindering Bitcoin development, stunting its value and ceding market share to other cryptocurrencies.
Who will win the bet? Would you put money on it? Let us know.
Images via Pixabay, YouTube
