Jon Atack joins the Bitcoin Infinity Show to talk about his years-long insider experience as a Bitcoin Core contributor, revealing how DEI-influenced selection criteria, centralized developer pipelines at Chaincode Labs, and social power dynamics reshaped the culture of Bitcoin's most important open source project. The conversation covers how hand-picked developers were fast-tracked while independent contributors struggled for funding, why the OP_RETURN controversy was the culmination of years of eroding trust, and Jon's case for why Bitcoin needs multiple competing implementations to restore meritocracy and decentralization. Jon also shares the untold story of how he helped Knut rewrite his first Bitcoin book but had to remove his name due to fear of political backlash from potential funders.

Connect with Jon:

https://x.com/jonatack

Link to Jon's presentation:

https://x.com/jonatack/status/2017635523905442197

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The Bitcoin Infinity Show is a Bitcoin podcast hosted by Knut Svanholm and produced by Luke de Wolf.