BitTorrent Creator Bram Cohen: Bitcoin Miners are Butthurt Over SegWit

When Ali broached the topic of updating P2P protocols already running across global networks, Cohen emphasized the critical importance of maintaining backwards compatibility—the approach soft forks provide. "When you have two nodes communicating, a compatible change means a newer node can interact smoothly with an older one and everything functions normally," Cohen explained. "With incompatible changes, new and old nodes simply can't communicate." He stressed that compatible implementations should "always" be the first choice, since incompatible approaches "fundamentally fail." Cohen noted that when incompatible changes do become necessary, they should unfold gradually. He cited BitTorrent's evolution as an example, where significant protocol shifts occurred over a ten-year span. "You need extremely long periods where everything stays compatible before introducing breaking changes," Cohen stated.

The Miner Problem

According to Cohen, Bitcoin's current development gridlock has a straightforward culprit: "It's about miners acting like spoiled children." His reference was to mining operations refusing to upgrade software and activate SegWit until months after Bitcoin Core released it. Cohen viewed SegWit as an exceptionally solid proposal from the Core team—essentially a bug fix that should have existed since Bitcoin's inception. The upgrade also provided an implicit raising of the transaction limit per block through a backwards-compatible design that many parts of the community had requested. "The expectation was straightforward—this would sail through without resistance because there's no legitimate reason to oppose it," Cohen said. "Instead, miners basically threw a fit and sabotaged it." He pointed to the ASICBOOST debate as a possible explanation for the obstruction. "They keep fantasizing that they can just execute a hard fork and everyone will tag along, but it's crucial that the broader Bitcoin world makes clear they're insignificant and puts them in their proper place," Cohen continued.

Defending Bitcoin Core Against Growing Hostility

Cohen rejected the notion that Bitcoin Core developers deserve the harsh treatment they've received. He argued they're simply conducting ordinary engineering work and "delivering results." He traced the animosity back to disagreements over features and direction. "When someone brings a suggestion to them and they determine it's misguided, what additional response do you expect?" Cohen asked. He concluded that "most informed people stand with Core's technical direction," expressing confidence in their overall approach.