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Ethereum is so enthusiastic about hard forks (or in ETH speak, upgrades) that they have the difficulty bomb which works like the debt ceiling. It's necessary to

Ethereum is so enthusiastic about hard forks (or in ETH speak, upgrades) that they have the difficulty bomb which works like the debt ceiling. It's necessary to do a hard fork/upgrade every so often. Meanwhile bitcoin is so against hard forks/upgrades that they can basically only do soft forks and currently do that by a 90% voting agreement by miners. Bitcoin can not even increase the blocksize, the sure as hell aren't going to change the emission. Some day far down the line the block subsidy might be low enough that lots of miners go dark. At that point they'll need to choose between 21 million bitcoins and network security.

etaioinshrdlu 5y ago
So the personal beliefs of users decide the technical future of the project. Personal beliefs and culture can change rapidly, or become overshadowed by new users. It just means that Bitcoin is only unchangeable because of the current whims of current users - nothing fundamental.
- alasano 5y ago
  It was never meant to be fundamentally unchangeable.
- thebean11 5y ago
  Humans decide the technical future of every project. The difference is which specific humans, how many, how they are selected, how they are incentivized etc.
  - etaioinshrdlu 5y ago
    I disagree with this - bitcoin is advertised as mathematically unbreakable (which it currently practically is, on a technical level, due to the cryptography) - but this level of bulletproof security is promoted as extended to all properties of the blockchain - which isn't, on a technical level, true.
    - thebean11 5y ago
      I disagree that's how it's promoted. You could make this argument about any piece of software (change the code to make it insecure, now look at the security hole!). If someone were to do this with Bitcoin, users can decide whether to use the old chain or the new chain. Unlike a centralized service, no individual (or even group of people) can prevent you from using the version of the network you and your peers want to participate in.
- X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
  Agreed. In my view the Bitcoin community has only further entrenched their position as they taken on new users in a toxic Eternal September.
- chillacy 5y ago
  > Bitcoin is only unchangeable because of the current whims of current users Is this different than saying that the US laws that we admire are held up by the whims of the electorate? But yes, I guess nothing fundamental because software is malleable, and even then there's still has to be the decision to treat it like it has value. A gold bar or dollar bill means nothing either if the whims of all humans were to change.

etaioinshrdlu 5y ago

So the personal beliefs of users decide the technical future of the project. Personal beliefs and culture can change rapidly, or become overshadowed by new users. It just means that Bitcoin is only unchangeable because of the current whims of current users - nothing fundamental.

alasano 5y ago
It was never meant to be fundamentally unchangeable.
thebean11 5y ago
Humans decide the technical future of every project. The difference is which specific humans, how many, how they are selected, how they are incentivized etc.
- etaioinshrdlu 5y ago
  I disagree with this - bitcoin is advertised as mathematically unbreakable (which it currently practically is, on a technical level, due to the cryptography) - but this level of bulletproof security is promoted as extended to all properties of the blockchain - which isn't, on a technical level, true.
  - thebean11 5y ago
    I disagree that's how it's promoted. You could make this argument about any piece of software (change the code to make it insecure, now look at the security hole!). If someone were to do this with Bitcoin, users can decide whether to use the old chain or the new chain. Unlike a centralized service, no individual (or even group of people) can prevent you from using the version of the network you and your peers want to participate in.
X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
Agreed. In my view the Bitcoin community has only further entrenched their position as they taken on new users in a toxic Eternal September.
chillacy 5y ago
> Bitcoin is only unchangeable because of the current whims of current users Is this different than saying that the US laws that we admire are held up by the whims of the electorate? But yes, I guess nothing fundamental because software is malleable, and even then there's still has to be the decision to treat it like it has value. A gold bar or dollar bill means nothing either if the whims of all humans were to change.