The Movement for True Bitcoin Innovation
Our movement, in addition to helping evolve the Mimblewimble protocol for future incorporation into Bitcoin, is also about exposing and replacing a failed and corrupt political movement within the Bitcoin community. The so-called "Bitcoin Maximalists," who have been in charge of the movement after they correctly supported BIP148 (the UASF), have become drunk with power and are no longer acting in the best interest of Bitcoin holders. They call anyone trying to innovate outside of their extremely narrow view of what’s acceptable a "scammer." This includes not only altcoin developers but practically all exchanges and even hardware wallet manufacturers like Trezor. If you even slightly disagree with their viewpoint, they block you on Twitter and otherwise shun you. They use the word "scam" as a euphemism for profit-seeking and capitalism while they don’t want to allow innovations into Bitcoin itself. This attitude will generally push everyone that doesn’t completely agree with them away. It’s toxic, it doesn’t encourage innovation in the space, and yes, it’s hurting the price of Bitcoin. While they have no say in ultimately what happens in the long term, they can slow things down, and that’s exactly what they are doing.
Facing the Backlash
Since I started working on MWC, I’ve been called a scammer and accused of "stealing software" which was explicitly given away for free online to anyone who wants to modify it for any purpose, just because I wanted to fork Grin and give it away to Bitcoin holders for free. It’s okay; I’ll gladly take all these ridiculous slings and arrows for the movement and to improve Bitcoin itself. MWC is about taking back the power of the Bitcoin holders and allowing innovation. It’s about encouraging altcoin development, AS LONG AS THE ALTCOIN GIVES THEIR FAIR SHARE TO BITCOIN HOLDERS IN THE FORM OF AN AIRDROP OR FORK. It’s about building Bitcoin as an income-producing asset and using these airdropped altcoins as a proving ground for innovations that will one day be considered for use in Bitcoin itself. Just like Monero, which tested Confidential Transactions, MWC will test Mimblewimble and further innovate around the airdrop distribution mechanism that hopefully many others will pursue to reward Bitcoin holders. It’s about building out future mechanisms which will reward Bitcoin holders in the long run. That’s why we submitted BIP 137, which was accepted into the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal repository and will guide wallet providers and airdrops alike on how to interoperate more easily.
The Hypocrisy of Maximalists
While the Maximalists are generally against exchanges, they unbelievably protect the criminals at Bitfinex, whose recent indictments reveal they were involved as a shadow banker for the Quadriga fiasco. While they generally demonize altcoins, they have their favorites like Grin (which VCs invested $100 million into mining hardware for before launch even though they try to portray an image of pure altruism). We don’t know who actually funded this mining hardware, but anyone care to guess? They even protect and allow into their inner circle people like Tone Vays, who has repeatedly shorted Bitcoin and even sold part of his "HODL" position while promoting nonsense like "Hyperwave," which hurt so many of his viewers. Now, I’d call that a scam! At the same time, they ostracize my friend Andy Hoffman, who has dedicated himself to something that is in the interest of all Bitcoin holders — promoting crypto-dividends like Bitcoin Rhodium and MWC. Whether you like these coins or not, they are given away for free to all Bitcoin holders who register. Not supporting them is just encouraging all of the other altcoins that are by no means going away. Bitcoiners should be able to capitalize on these, and that’s all Andy is trying to help them do.
Reclaiming Bitcoin Maximalism
Finally, our movement is about reclaiming what it means to be a Bitcoin Maximalist. We’re not going to give in and let these interlopers dictate our terminology. Bitcoin Maximalism should be about making Bitcoin first and increasing its value as much as possible, in the interest of its holders. It’s about encouraging innovation through the airdrop mechanism and allowing entrepreneurs to reward both themselves and Bitcoin holders at the same time. Let’s send a message to these so-called maximalists: enough is enough. Join us in registering for MWC today.
