Developer Usurps SegWit2x Moniker for Upcoming Bitcoin Fork

For those new to the discussion, scaling issues have plagued Bitcoin and have led to a handful of different forked currencies that offer varying solutions.  Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Diamond, and Super Bitcoin were released in the fall and winter of 2017, but still more forks are projected.  The introduction of developer Jaap Turlouw’s SegWit2x forked coin will certainly add another layer of confusion for new entrants. 

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Although the fraudulent intentions are not entirely clear, nor proveable, the fact that Turlouw has usurped the name of one of the most controversial moments in Bitcoin’s history should indeed be a red flag.  This is particularly dangerous due to the increasing numbers of new entrants to the flooded market.  Without enough knowledge as to the history of bitcoin, even an event from November 2017, one could easily walk into yet another investment ill-informed. 

Perhaps the best way to approach this fork is as one would do with any other initial coin offering or altcoin investment.  Following extensive research into the matter, it will become clear that SegWit2x (B2X) has no intention in the development of the community.  In this way, it resembles more the get-rich-quick schemes than advancing technology. 

In an excellent piece that provided the first criticism to Turlouw’s objectives, Nicholas Etienne outlined the scheme to respective readers:

“This project is announcing the mysterious creation of bitcoins (supposed B2X) to the equivalent of Satoshi Nakamoto’s originally mined coins!  Now they don’t announce how many coins they will create, and they don’t announce how they will create it.” 

The lack of transparency in the project is also a warning sign that the project is strictly interested in “personal enrichment.” 

What was SegWit2x? 

The history lesson needed to remedy the entire situation farcical is that of the proposed fork by the Bitcoin community in November.  The implementation of the SegWit2x hoped to increase block size from one megabyte to two and render bitcoin more scalable.  Unfortunately, due to both a handful of errors in the code and community disputes, the upgrade was canceled. 

The resulting aftermath gave a massive push to Bitcoin Cash, a hard fork that has already implemented larger block sizes. 

More importantly, Terlouw was not directly a part of these discussions, until now.  Starting on December 28, he will carry out a bitcoin hard fork that resembles the aforementioned technological advancement only in name.  Not only that, but he and the unknown wallet providers and exchanges supporting his fork are sure to turn a profit. 

It should also be noted that anyone can make a bitcoin fork with ForkGen’s Fork Generator. 

While high fees and slower transaction fees are a major technical hurdle for bitcoin, another major crisis has emerged in the entire sector.  The problem with a relatively small community, coupled with huge opportunities to turn a quick profit, has made this a hotbed for scammers and fraudulent activity.