The bitcoin community is fighting over an upcoming software change that one developer has warned will be the end of bitcoin. He has reportedly discussed creating a trusted group of censors with the authority to alter data recorded on chain.
![Opponents have framed the update in dire terms. Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr — a longtime critic of bitcoin “spam” [I20, 46] and maintainer of the alternative Knots node software — has claimed that bitcoin “will cease to exist when Core30 changes it into a CSAM file sharing platform” and that “Bitcoin doesn’t survive if v30 gets widespread adoption.”4041 Dashjr has reportedly discussed creating a trusted group of censors with the authority to alter illicit data recorded on chain —a controversial proposal in an ecosystem that prides itself on being trustless, uncensorable, and immutable. “Right now the only options would be Bitcoin dies or we have to trust someone,” Dashjr wrote in leaked messages published by The Rage.42](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/115/340/567/336/187/259/original/a36034634d9daa6e.png)
Opponents have framed the update in dire terms. Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr — a longtime critic of bitcoin “spam” [I20, 46] and maintainer of the alternative Knots node software — has claimed that bitcoin “will cease to exist when Core30 changes it into a CSAM file sharing platform” and that “Bitcoin doesn’t survive if v30 gets widespread adoption.”4041 Dashjr has reportedly discussed creating a trusted group of censors with the authority to alter illicit data recorded on chain —a controversial proposal in an ecosystem that prides itself on being trustless, uncensorable, and immutable. “Right now the only options would be Bitcoin dies or we have to trust someone,” Dashjr wrote in leaked messages published by The Rage.42
![Bitcoiners have been embroiled in a battle surrounding an impending update to Bitcoin Core, the reference implementation for bitcoin nodes, which will increase the amount of data that can be included in bitcoin transactions beyond simple payment information. Supporters argue this provides a better method for storing arbitrary data on the bitcoin chain than existing approaches like the controversial Ordinals [I46] or Runes [I56] projects, while reducing the resource burden on node operators. Opponents contend that bitcoin developers should discourage such activity, and have raised concerns about network spam and potential legal liability for node operators, since each bitcoin node must download all transaction data. Some worry that bad actors could upload illicit data, like copyrighted content or child sexual abuse material, to the chain, creating legal problems for anyone running a node. Supporters have pushed back on these concerns, noting that node operators can “prune” (discard) the added data after validation, and that illicit content already exists on the bitcoin chain but hasn’t resulted in legal issues.39](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/115/340/565/203/659/262/original/4a2e8a0a3a626c28.png)
Bitcoiners have been embroiled in a battle surrounding an impending update to Bitcoin Core, the reference implementation for bitcoin nodes, which will increase the amount of data that can be included in bitcoin transactions beyond simple payment information. Supporters argue this provides a better method for storing arbitrary data on the bitcoin chain than existing approaches like the controversial Ordinals [I46] or Runes [I56] projects, while reducing the resource burden on node operators. Opponents contend that bitcoin developers should discourage such activity, and have raised concerns about network spam and potential legal liability for node operators, since each bitcoin node must download all transaction data. Some worry that bad actors could upload illicit data, like copyrighted content or child sexual abuse material, to the chain, creating legal problems for anyone running a node. Supporters have pushed back on these concerns, noting that node operators can “prune” (discard) the added data after validation, and that illicit content already exists on the bitcoin chain but hasn’t resulted in legal issues.39
![Trump business interests
Hot on the heels of New York Times reporting about questionable timing in deals involving the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial and Emirati firm MGX [I93], The Washington Post has published related reporting focused on MGX’s upcoming 15% stake in the TikTok deal brokered by the Trump administration. Senator Warren (D-MA), who had already demanded an ethics investigation into the World Liberty and MGX deals, has stated that the “shady Abu Dhabi firm” had “already cut deals to get sensitive American technology while enriching the Trump family’s crypto firm. The American people deserve to know if the President has struck another backdoor deal for this billionaire takeover of TikTok.” A White House official has said that MGX’s investment profiting the Trump family crypto project had no bearing on the MGX deals, so... case closed, I guess?
Some have raised separate concerns about the TikTok deal, wondering if it’s a scheme to benefit the Trump allies who will take ownership of the firm. Vice President Vance’s recent statement that the firm was valued at only around $14 billion — a fraction of the $100 billion that one analyst previously estimated for the app — has led some to speculate that the company was intentionally undervalued to allow new investors to profit from an artificially large increase in value. Senator Wyden also commented on the arrangement, stating that “By steering TikTok to allies like Larry Ellison and a fund backed by the United](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/115/340/532/160/406/345/original/c9d4f1ce5276532c.png)
![If realized, this would be the Trump-related second treasury firm with serious conflicts of interest in its management. ALT5 Sigma, a Nasdaq-listed company that pivoted to a WLFI treasury company, added several of World Liberty Financial’s executives to its board. A similar structure, where the treasury company shares leadership with the company that issues the token held in treasury, would suffer from similar issues: executives responsible for managing the treasury company would also stand to benefit from decisions that inflate the token’s value or promote its use, rather than from prudent management. This conflict was so blatant that the Nasdaq forced Eric Trump’s removal from the planned board of ALT5 Sigma, though other World Liberty executives were still allowed to take leadership and board positions [I92]. A $TRUMP treasury company would certainly benefit President Trump, whose businesses control 80% of the $TRUMP token supply and will require a liquid market to sell those holdings. If the same individuals are involved in both the token-issuing entity and the treasury company, they would effectively be negotiating with themselves — able to set whatever price they wish for the tokens the treasury purchases.](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/115/340/536/732/713/940/original/0820831bdb41b992.png)
![In the White House
After rumors that the Trump administration was considering new candidates to replace Brian Quintenz as their nominee for CFTC chair [I93], the White House has withdrawn his nomination. Politico remarked on the “stunning turn of events for a nominee who once appeared to be a lock for confirmation”, writing that the incident was an “illustration of the new balance of power in Trump’s Washington” as the Winklevoss twins pressured President Trump to rescind his nomination.5 Quintenz has alleged that the Winklevosses might have “misled” Trump, publishing text messages with the brothers that he said he believed “make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise.” [I92] An anonymous source quoted by crypto outlet DL News, who they described as “familiar with discussions surrounding the CFTC nomination process”, stated, “They completely nuked him. They made a phone call. They were like, ‘This is not going to fly with us.’ And it was a very short trip from there to [Quintenz’s nomination] being killed.”6 The Winklevosses are not the only ones happy to see Quintenz out of the running, though. Dina Titus (D-NV), the co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus who had called for an investigation into possible ethics violations by Quintenz pertaining to prediction markets [I90], responded to the news of the withdrawn nomination by writing, “Good. The CFTC deserves strong, independent leadership that will follow and enforce agency regulations.”7](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/115/340/540/074/185/275/original/853681c11d8c043d.png)
![In Congress
The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of US unions, has slammed proposed crypto market structure legislation in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee. They write, “As drafted, this bill will enable the crypto industry to operate in wider and deeper ways in our financial system without sufficient oversight or meaningful safeguards.” They urge Senators to oppose the proposed bill, citing concerns that it will poorly regulate assets that may be incorporated into pension funds, and that it would increase financial instability. “This legislation provides the perfect environment for the next financial crisis to germinate,” they write.11
Whether anyone’s actually read the letter is unclear, as the government enters its second week of shutdown. With many congressional staff furloughed and legislative business largely stalled, the shutdown has thrown a wrench in the crypto industry’s hopes to get market structure legislation expeditiously passed into law. The industry had been pushing for quick passage before midterm campaigning begins and before a potentially less crypto-friendly Congress could make their preferred rules more challenging to implement [I84, 85].](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/115/340/541/911/658/730/original/965bc1800f9b5ba2.png)
