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Homepage > News > Editorial > Bitcoin White Paper 16th anniversary: Reckoning with original vision It’s my fifth year publishing content with CoinGeek, and my twelfth year being a Bitcoiner. Somehow, it feels like time flew by, but it has also been forever since we’ve been working on and fighting for Bitcoin. That duality has been a big part of my thinking on Bitcoin lately, and as the cultures of BTC and BSV continue to diverge between Fink, Dorsey, and Saylor’s vision versus Satoshi’s, it’s incumbent upon me to reflect on the past and peer into the future. On October 31, we mark sixteen years since Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper—a concise yet visionary document that redefined the concept of money and challenged the power structures controlling global finance. Satoshi proposed more than just a decentralized currency; Bitcoin was designed as a robust, peer-to-peer system that promised financial autonomy, economic inclusivity, and an open network accessible to all. Sixteen years later, however, Bitcoin’s journey is marred by competing interpretations of its purpose and challenges that have redefined what it means to “keep the network secure.” As we celebrate this anniversary, we are reminded of Bitcoin’s roots, where it has veered off course, and where its potential is being realized most faithfully. For nearly a decade, Bitcoin Core (BTC) has followed a path that prioritizes digital scarcity and store-of-value narratives. In pursuit of price appreciation, BTC implemented a restrictive approach to scalability, limiting the block size to constrain transaction capacity and create artificial scarcity. This decision, which some argue preserves decentralization, also profoundly constrains utility, making it impractical for everyday transactions. While BTC’s price growth has rewarded early adopters and institutional investors, the network’s vision has narrowed. Today, BTC’s most innovative development is Ordinals, an inscription protocol allowing users…

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Filed under: News - @ October 31, 2024 10:25 am