Amid Redesign Bitcoin.org De-lists Coinbase, BitPay and Other Pro-SegWit2x Platforms

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by Alexandra Sayapina · 3 min read

The redesign of one of the core sites of the crypto sphere provoked some strong reactions, as the platform left out from the list of Bitcoin Resources all the companies supporting Segwit2x and not treating Bitcoin and S2X as separate cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin.org is one of the most influential web-sites in the crypto community and the memorable name is not its only attraction. This resource has developed a reputation of a good starting point for the newcomers to get the initial understanding of the crypto sphere.

The site was created in 2009 when Bitcoin was making its first steps towards global popularity. A lot has happened since these days and Bitcoin.org needed some redesign. The new design is launched – but the fresh look has gone unappreciated. The crypto community has focused on the changes in the list of Bitcoin Resources that have been implemented along with the redesign.

The Bitcoin Resources page is a great place to get acknowledged with the crypto sphere. The page has consolidated the top resources on the topic. However, the renewed version has left some of the time-proven and appreciated crypto-related platforms out. The list of resources gone with the redesign includes a digital currency exchange Coinbase, secure bitcoin wallet platform Xapo, a global bitcoin payment service provider BitPay and the official site of the leading software platform Blockchain.com.

The list of the excluded resources is not accidental: all of these platforms are the supporters of Segwit2x. This proposal for boosting Bitcoin’s transaction capacity has caused lots of discussions in the crypto community. Without getting into too much detail, the main issue about S2X is the absence of strong replay protection.

Bitcoin.org published on 5 October 2017 a post called “Bitcoin.org to denounce “Segwit2x“. This post explained the official position of the platform. It included a list of the rules that Bitcoin.org considered acceptable for S2X tolerable companies like not listing Segwit2x as Bitcoin and providing normal service to non-S2X users. The companies that did not match these criteria were listed as risky for users. It is easy to guess that the resources that disappeared from the Bitcoin Resources page can be found in this list.

The S2X issue became a controversial topic for the crypto community. The initial post of Bitcoin.org on S2X made quite a stir and now the discussion has resumed. The opinions vary a lot from the complete support of Bicoin.org position to the charges of violating the principles of decentralization. Erik Voorhees, the CEO of ShapeShift – one of the companies listed in the divisive post – expressed his opinion during the first stage of discussion in his post on reddit that started with the words “using bitcoin.org for political positions… not a good precedent”.

Bitcoin.org made a big statement – and now it just follows the chosen course of action. The consequences of this decision are still to unfold. Indeed, decentralization is one of the key concepts of the crypto sphere, but there is an opinion that some level of centralization is important for greater user adoption. The fact that Bitcoin.org has eliminated some popular platforms is extremely divisive – and this discussion is far from being over.

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