Wladimir Van Der Laan will keep offering support to Bitcoin. The lead developer will begin to delegate tasks to decentralize the network development process.
Wladimir Van Der Laan, the main maintainer of Bitcoin, started delegating his tasks regarding the support of bitcoin. This action is leading to a decrease in his involvement in the project, although, he will remain contributing to the maintenance of the network.
The lead developer published a letter on January 21 on which he explained in detail the reasons that led him to make this decision. The letter reflects some important factors like the growth that Bitcoin achieved since the leader took the management of the main maintenance of the network in 2014. Bitcoin grew so much that it went to become a more demanding project.
The plan of Van Der Laan, an expert in computer science and cypherpunk from Amsterdam (Netherlands), is to begin a slow transition to more supportive roles instead of the stressful activities that relate to the maintenance of the network.
The developer won’t stop his contributions to the blockchain and The Bitcoin Core client but he desires to assume easier roles. He also stated that he does not want his decision to become a public debate that could expose him.
In this regard, the developer’s note appears in parallel with controversy in the bitcoin community due to the removal of the original Bitcoin white paper from the Bitcoin Core repository on GitHub.
Although Van Der Laan’s arguments do not show this explicitly, the removal of the document coincides with the pressure that Craig Wright, the self-described Satoshi Nakamoto, has been employing. Wright recently made a copyright claim to the white paper.
On January 21, Van Der Laan justified his decision arguing that the status of the file’s license was unclear. He received both criticism and support for the removal of the Bitcoin Core document and then used his Twitter account to claim that his intention is not to become “a bitcoin martyr” and invited bitcoiners to join the defense of the project.
Wladimir Van Der Laan, the main maintainer of Bitcoin, started delegating his tasks regarding the support of bitcoin. This action is leading to a decrease in his involvement in the project, although, he will remain contributing to the maintenance of the network.
The lead developer published a letter on January 21 on which he explained in detail the reasons that led him to make this decision. The letter reflects some important factors like the growth that Bitcoin achieved since the leader took the management of the main maintenance of the network in 2014. Bitcoin grew so much that it went to become a more demanding project.
The plan of Van Der Laan, an expert in computer science and cypherpunk from Amsterdam (Netherlands), is to begin a slow transition to more supportive roles instead of the stressful activities that relate to the maintenance of the network.
The developer won’t stop his contributions to the blockchain and The Bitcoin Core client but he desires to assume easier roles. He also stated that he does not want his decision to become a public debate that could expose him.
In this regard, the developer’s note appears in parallel with controversy in the bitcoin community due to the removal of the original Bitcoin white paper from the Bitcoin Core repository on GitHub.
Although Van Der Laan’s arguments do not show this explicitly, the removal of the document coincides with the pressure that Craig Wright, the self-described Satoshi Nakamoto, has been employing. Wright recently made a copyright claim to the white paper.
On January 21, Van Der Laan justified his decision arguing that the status of the file’s license was unclear. He received both criticism and support for the removal of the Bitcoin Core document and then used his Twitter account to claim that his intention is not to become “a bitcoin martyr” and invited bitcoiners to join the defense of the project.
“This is about decentralization and distributed systems, not about personal macho positions. I have no interest in it and they don’t pay me enough to do it,” said the developer.
What’s to Come for Bitcoin: The Need to Decentralize Processes?
After indicating his other personal interests, Van Der Laan’s letter talks about how the development of the Bitcoin network should be approached this year. This highlights the need to decentralize processes.
He thinks that other members can also assume many of his responsibilities. Consequently, he’s looking forward to stopping leading some meetings, and not signing or submitting releases to the bitcoin-dev and bitcoin-core-dev lists. “Other maintainers should be able to launch without my participation,” he says.
In the letter, the developer also proposes the decentralization of the network development center through the use of a P2P distributed code collaboration platform. This proposal’s purpose is to avoid central servers. In this regard, it advises developers to stay away from clearnet (open Internet) websites in the long term to distribute code.
By: Jenson Nuñez
