Segwit is an attempt to redefine the bitcoin protocol in a manner that drastically undermines the security of the network. Here’s an analogy to get a jist of what is going on.
Imagine a FIDE1 imposter attempted to add a new rule / restriction to chess, call this version chess2. Bishops are now only allowed to move a maximum of 4 squares diagonally from their current position. This new rule does not conflict with the original rules of chess.2 A chess player observing a game of chess2 would not necessarily know that a different game was being played. They would watch this ‘chess’ game and perhaps be perplexed as to why certain bishop moves weren’t played, but otherwise the game would look the same.
Imposter FIDE could slowly add new rules to chess2, all while maintaining an illusion of fidelity with the original game. Of course, the brazen FIDE impostor would not name their game chess2, and so their new game would be masquerading as chess itself.
This is the state of bitcoin. A group of ‘core devs’ have been chipping away at what the word bitcoin even means. They’ve made the kind of changes that are akin to removing the 20,999,999.9769 btc cap. 3 Yes, the situation is that bad. They are not only changing the rules of bitcoin, they are adding rules that poison it.
Chess2 is not chess and segwit is not bitcoin. If you want to use sound money you must use real bitcoin addresses that start with the character ‘1’.
- The major chess organization [↩]
- Provided opposing kings do not move into a position 5+ diagonal squares away from a bishop. [↩]
- Nope, it’s not exactly 21 million. And yes, this matters. Stating the precise cap illustrates that bitcoin adheres to a strict protocol, warts and all. [↩]