Bitcoin China will not adopt Bitcoin XT

A long-running dispute intensified this weekend after two prominent developers released new versions of the codebase, seriously affecting the bitcoin community and even threatening to lead to a split in the cryptocurrency.

For the past few months, developers and Bitcoin users have been arguing over the issue of increasing the "block size".

Blocks record adjacent transactions and are currently limited to 1 megabyte; if the block size is increased, the Bitcoin network can process more transactions each time to meet growing demand. However, this will also make it more difficult for ordinary users to use network "nodes" to verify new transactions, resulting in more centralized Bitcoin.

Since Bitcoin is public and decentralized, which means that anyone can change its code, no one can unilaterally force an upgrade without widespread agreement, and there is no consensus on the issue of block expansion. Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn, two well-known developers, have now released Bitcoin XT software, which is an alternative version of the core software that supports block expansion. This will force Bitcoin users to choose between "Bitcoin Core" and Bitcoin XT, resulting in Bitcoin splitting into two versions.

Currently, Core and XT are compatible and use the same blockchain public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin is still operating as a digital currency. However, if 75% of users accept XT by January 2016, the block will be upgraded to a larger capacity. This will be incompatible with Core, which means that 25% of users will still use Core, causing Bitcoin to split.

Who controls the rise and fall?

After several months of intense discussion, the debate on block size still cannot reach a consensus, and the choice between XT and Core can be seen as a public vote on the block size debate. According to statistics from the XTnodes.com website, 7.7% of users have accepted XT. This development speed is relatively fast, but it is still unknown whether 75% of users will accept XT next year.

Samson Mow is the COO of BTCChina, which owns one of the largest mining pools. A mining pool is a group of users that pool resources together to increase the chances of successful mining. In the Bitcoin network, mining refers to recording transactions to earn Bitcoins. Samson Mow told Business Insider that BTCChina and other Chinese mining communities "have decided not to adopt Bitcoin XT. Bitcoin is built on consensus, and changes to Bitcoin require consensus among core developers. If core developers cannot reach a consensus, then the mining community has the responsibility to maintain the stability of Bitcoin, and we will continue to work hard to maintain the stability of Bitcoin."

China’s large mining pools account for half of Bitcoin. If they refuse to accept XT, it will be difficult for 75% of users to accept XT and achieve block expansion.

That said, Hearn remains confident, telling CoinDesk, “We think it’s reasonably possible to get majority support, but it’s going to take some work.”

Satoshi Nakamoto returns?

In a discussion this weekend, a user on the Bitcoin developer mailing list claimed to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and denounced the XT project in the discussion. However, the email was not encrypted, and it is very likely that someone was impersonating Satoshi Nakamoto, after all, Satoshi Nakamoto's email account had been hacked before.

Even if XT is not accepted, the emergence of XT will prompt a clear decision on the block size debate as soon as possible. Although Chinese mining areas do not support XT, they basically support block size expansion.

However, the ongoing debate and the failure to reach consensus on important issues not only cause public panic, but also damage the image of Bitcoin and increase the risk of not being accepted by the mainstream.