Did Luke Dashjr really plan a Bitcoin hard fork?
Leaked text messages about Knots leader Luke Dashjr’s alleged plan for a Bitcoin hard fork sparked a media frenzy within the Bitcoin community late yesterday afternoon.
Tech outlet TheRage reported that Dashjr would consider temporarily hardforking the blockchain, if necessary, to protect node operators from CSAM that might be easier to relay around the Bitcoin network after Core version 30 (v30) changes mempool defaults.
However, Dashjr, who runs Knots, an offshoot of the world’s dominant Bitcoin node software, Bitcoin Core, has vehemently denied these claims.
Reactions to Dashjr’s alleged plan were immediate. However, despite TheRage’s reporting, it wasn’t independently clear whether Dashjr actually advocates for any hard fork at all.
Shortly before TheRage’s article, Dashjr commented on the possibility of a hard fork in typically ambiguous terms. “If we have community support, no fork is necessary. If we don’t, no fork is possible,” he posted.
Senior Bitcoin developer Adam Back responded to the article, claiming he’d “heard unrelated from several contacts that OCEAN, the mining pool founded by Dashjr, was contacting pools with legal theories to try push their corporate counsel into moderating content.
“That connects with and looks much worse in context of leaked, Luke Dashjr instant messages in this article.”
‘There is no hard fork’
Dashjr has repeatedly called the overall intent of TheRage’s article false and claimed, “There is no hardfork.” He argued that the article wasn’t real and “fake news.”
Despite this, TheRage notes that he hasn’t publicly denied writing the messages obtained by the publication.
He has also claimed elsewhere that, “The only ones proposing hardforks are Core30 apologists.”
Bitcoin Core’s controversial October update to version 30 will introduce an accommodative change to OP_RETURN mempool defaults that will ease arbitrary data storage.
Many Knots node operators, including its lead developer, Dashjr, oppose Core v30.
Read more: Knots leader says Bitcoin Core v30 could host illegal adult content
Protos reached out to Dashjr to confirm the authenticity of the text messages and whether or not he would advocate for a hard fork, but didn’t receive a response prior to publication time.
TheRage stands by its reporting
TheRage has said that the screenshots’ authenticity has been verified via video proof.
Neither Dashjr nor his colleague Bitcoin Mechanic have claimed that the messages are fake, despite their disagreement with TheRage’s characterization.
Giacomo Zucco, an investor in OCEAN, the mining pool that Dashjr and Mechanic co-operate, believes that the screenshots are probably authentic. TheRage has stood by its reporting, emphasizing the non-denial of the text messages by Dashjr and Mechanic. BitMEX Research reposted that emphasis to its own followers.
EDIT: 20:15 UTC, Sept 26: We’ve updated this piece to include additional context on this story and added third-party citations from high-profile industry members. Removed claims that TheRage withheld the full context of the screenshotted conversation.
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