According to U.Today, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has recently engaged in a discussion about the control of hash power within the Bitcoin network. Schwartz has challenged the prevailing belief that the majority of hash power determines who gets to use the name 'Bitcoin'. This discourse was initiated in response to a user named 'Curtis Ellis' who shared his understanding of 'BTC logic' on a platform. According to Ellis, the majority of hash power decides who gets to use the name Bitcoin and users must run a full node to follow the hash power that runs the rules they choose.
In the Bitcoin network, participants, or the computers that maintain the Bitcoin blockchain, are known as nodes. These nodes are classified into full and miner nodes. Full nodes store an entire copy of the blockchain and validate blocks and transactions to ensure they follow network rules. They are crucial to the integrity and security of the Bitcoin network. The Nakamoto consensus, which includes the longest chain rule, has been the backbone of the Bitcoin network. This rule states that the chain with the highest total computing effort is the legitimate blockchain when competing chains occur on a network.
However, Schwartz has brought a new perspective to this discussion. He questions whether the majority of hash power truly gives the authority to define what 'Bitcoin' is. He cites the example of the Bitcoin cash hard fork from Bitcoin, which took place in 2017. Schwartz argues that rational users did not simply choose whichever side was called 'Bitcoin' after the fork. He suggests that the rule for determining which side is 'Bitcoin' does not necessarily guide users to the side they want to be on. This intervention by the Ripple CTO has added a nuanced perspective to the discussion, challenging the community to critically think about the principles that underpin the ecosystem.