“This group of Bitcoiners that we’ve cultivated for the last couple of years, they are not going to help us to grow this community by a tenfold or a hundredfold anymore. That’s a small clique of people that has now taken control.”
— Eric Wall

Eric Wall is a researcher and investor, and in this interview, we discuss how Eric became a notable critical voice within the HEX community, his ongoing fight with prominent Bitcoin maximalists, and Taproot Wizards.

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What Bitcoin stands for and should be is a debate that has been raging since 2009. Bitcoin’s unique characteristics have drawn many people into its gravity. The realisation that its immaculate conception may never be replicated has resulted in many of those same people guarding Bitcoin’s development with uncompromising zeal.

The result has been the rise of Bitcoin Maximalism. Maximalist ideology can be a fuzzy concept: there are no clearly agreed rules or principles; there have been various iterations with different priorities over time. However, it is clearly characterised by conservatism over the development of the protocol, and intolerance for those with differing attitudes.

Nevertheless, that is not to say that Bitcoin development can forever remain in stasis. There are and have been pressures requiring upgrades both to the base layer, and in the development of additional layers. This means there is always a creative tension on what changes are required, and how quickly these need to be implemented.

Further, as Bitcoin has no leader, it has engendered an ecosystem where advocates organically emerge, who can gain traction and have an outsized influence on the community. This creates further tensions as Bitcoin’s purpose is being proselytized using competing and sometimes muddied beliefs.

Thus, it is important that Bitcoiners enable an open dialogue where all ideas are questioned, scrutinized and tested. And such debates should be open to all Bitcoiners, without fear or favour to any powerful interests. Is the question therefore how intolerant we should be of those with differing views? And, can we live without trolling, or is this a necessary defensive tool?

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This episode’s sponsors:
Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably
Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantly
Ledn - Financial services for Bitcoin hodlers
Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is here
Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware wallet
Wasabi Wallet - Privacy by default

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WBD644 - Show Notes

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