On Monday, 11th January, a Reddit user @itstimebitcoin, posted an article entitled “The ugly truth: Bitcoin is doomed and needs to be replaced”. The article that talked about “how bitcoin is doomed and Ethereum will replace it” soon became very controversial and was later removed on Wednesday, 15th January. (A cached copy of the article can be accessed here).
Ethereum PR Stunt?
Many Reddit users complained that they received personal spam messages from multiple newly created Reddit accounts that read “Hello, I saw your post in the bitcoin reddit, what is your opinion on Reddit post (link).”
So were the author(s) and promoters of this post from Ethereum, or was this the work of a third party that had the aim of sowing discord among the cryptocurrency enthusiasts?
Anthony Di Iorio, chief digital officer (CDO) at TMX Group and co-founder of Ethereum, when approached about this said:
“I wouldn't think it would be an Ethereum PR move. It is not ethereum style to do something like this”.
As per Paul Jones, who is a FinTech researcher and startup investor:
“Bitcoin has certainly received a lot more attention from the press than Ethereum—both good and bad, which has certainly raised public awareness of this new innovative technology. Although the title is provocative and the criticism of Bitcoin is overstated, at the very least, this will raise public awareness of Ethereum. No publicity is bad publicity”.
Truth in Claim?
Is there actually any truth in the claims made in article, especially that Bitcoin is doomed and will be replaced by Ethereum in the near future?
Paul Jones didn’t think that there is any possibility in the near future for Ethereum to replace Bitcoin. However he does believe that Ethereum has potential. He said that both Bitcoin and Ethereum have plenty of room in the future; while Bitcoin may become the money of the Internet, Ethereum could dominate smart contracts.
Tone Vays, Head of Research at Brave New Coin, however was completely dismissive:
"This view of how Bitcoin is doomed and Ethereum will replace it reads exactly like the Nigerian Prince has left you an inheritance email. The fate of Ether is the same as Bitshares, you already have a blueprint.”
He further added:
“The author is an idiot. If the government did burn Bitcoins, it means all the other bitcoins go up in value. if Chinese Gov suddenly destroys all that mining equipment, the $400 21 inc. box would fly off the shelf because it might actually be profitable since the difficulty will drop and mining could become more decentralized than before.”
Sowing Seeds of Discord?
Could it be a third party that had the aim of sowing seeds of discord in mind? When asked, Paul Jones said:
“There are a lot of smart people involved in the crypto space, and strong egos can have strong opinions. I don’t know offhand who would be motivated to disparage Bitcoin and predict its demise, claiming a premature victory for Ethereum. However, I’m sure there are well-established “believers” in both the Bitcoin and Ethereum camps who think this is a winner-take-all game.”