✊It's Bitcoin Independence Day!

Happy Bitcoin Independence Day to you!


Today we celebrate Bitcoin's independence over corporate interest during the 2017 block size wars. Bitcoin Independence Day is a holiday that says a lot about the Bitcoin community.

Its origins are highly technical and difficult to understand. The "independence" it celebrates refers to the developer community overcoming interests from industrialized miners and, ultimately, it's a chance for Bitcoiners to reflect on the young history of the technology and engage in debate.

With that said, let's take a look at what makes this day so special...

AUGUST 1, 2021

Celebrating The Spirit & History of Bitcoin Independence Day
By Peter Chawaga 

Bitcoin Magazine's Aaron van Wirdum has covered the technical debate that this holiday commemorates, which culminated in the successful activation of the SegWit protocol upgrade in 2017, better than I ever could. For this year's celebration, our team made a helpful animated video to cover the history as well. 

But the history alone doesn't quite explain why Bitcoin Independence Day is important enough to celebrate three years later. I think we celebrate it because we see this as an existential moment in Bitcoin when the good of the many won out over the aims of the powerful few — proof that this universal, permissionless value system was resilient in the ways it needs to be. Evidence of our independence.

"It's not possible to deploy whatever you want on a consensus network," Eric Lombrozo, a key developer behind SegWit and participant in our live stream this year, told Bitcoin Magazine as he reflected on the historyin 2019. "I could want to deploy a million features, but if other people don't want to accept it, it's not up to me. I can't negotiate this on behalf of the network. It's not up to me or anyone else."

Bitcoin Independence Day might stem from an esoteric developer debate, but its resolution was ultimately a recognition of the larger independence that this technology promises from bad actors, gatekeepers, powerful third parties, etc. And I think that will always be worth celebrating.

Read More →

During Bitcoin Magazine's Bitcoin Independence Day live stream, Aaron van Wirdum presented a brief history of the holiday and the SegWit debates, animated by Tommy.

Make sure you watch this video explainer to learn more about Bitcoin's favorite holiday, the historical importance of the scaling debate and SegWit and why this event is worth celebrating years later.

Watch Video →

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