Bitcoin Cash to "Split" Due to Controversial Miner "Tax" Proposal
Conflicts within the Bitcoin Cash development community are resulting in another Bitcoin Cash “coin split” – that is, a segment of the Bitcoin Cash community will unilateraly deploy a hard fork upgrade to create a new forkcoin – striking a heavy blow to the already embattled altcoin.
The Bitcoin Cash community is fearful about how this may impact the altcoin, with Bitcoin.com CEO Dennis Jarvis stating that forking the blockchain may damage Bitcoin Cash’s “long-term value and usefulness.”
Bitcoin Cash Developers Feud Over Miner “Tax”
The current schism within the Bitcoin Cash development community is surrounding a potential “tax” on miners aimed at directing more capital towards development of the Bitcoin ABC client.
These concepts were first put forth in the Infrastructure Funding Plan (IFP) earlier this year, which proposed that the blockchain’s miners pay a 12.5% tax from their coinbase rewards that goes directly to supporting the development of the Bitcoin ABC software client.
Jiang Zhuoer, the CEO of BTC.TOP, explained the concept of a miner “tax” in a proposal from January, in which he noted that infrastructure development is imperative in order for the blockchain to avoid facing any long-term problems.
“To provide this funding, we intend to direct 12.5% of BCH coinbase rewards to a fund that will support Bitcoin Cash infrastructure. This funding will last for 6 months, and it will provide significant and much needed support to the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem.”
Despite this original plan failing to gain traction, Bitcoin ABC developer Amaury Séchet advocated for the implementation of a slightly less aggressive miner tax of 8% in an August 6th Medium post.
“The Coinbase Rule improvement is as follows: All newly mined blocks must contain an output assigning 8% of the newly mined coins to a specified address.”
Séchet concluded his post by stating that this change is not up for debate, and that it will be implemented at the time of the November 15th upgrade.
“While some may prefer that Bitcoin ABC did not implement this improvement, this announcement is not an invitation for debate. The decision has been made and will be activated at the November upgrade.”
A recent GitHub update confirms that ABC is pushing this Coinbase Rule improvement forward.
These changes have failed to garner widespread support. Tensions reached a boiling point when multiple people ended up quitting a recent Bitcoin Cash development meeting.
Bitcoin Cash Community Concerned About Impacts of Imminent Coin Split
Important figures within the blockchain’s development community are concerned about the potential implications of this imminent coin split, with Dennis Jarvis stating in a tweet earlier this month that “no good outcomes” come from forking.
This would be the third time Bitcoin Cash experiences a coin split, with the previous two splits spawning Bitcoin Clashic and Bitcoin SV.