BUIP180: Andrew Clifford for President
Submitted: 1 January 2022
Background
The current term for BU president expires 21 January 2022. As this is during the next voting window, the current position will then be considered as “acting” until this BUIP or another similar one is decided upon by the membership. The usual two-year term then applies.
Ecosystem Outreach
During November 2020, ABC forked away from BCH as the community unified to defeat their coinbase tax. I know that everyone at BU was pleased to see BCH development get a fresh start with a much more inclusive and harmonious environment. The BCHN team have my congratulations for continued effective stewardship of the reference client.
The BU membership has funds approved for a conference and this would have been held already, but the last two years has been problematic with the virus situation. I expect it will subside in the first half of 2022, as omicron outcompetes the deadly covid strains, so it just becomes another form of seasonal flu. Hopefully!
In which case, I will establish a BU committee, engage a professional organizer, and proceed with a BU-sponsored conference later in 2022. My support will continue for Bitcoin Cash community events and helping worthy causes to foster new developers in this space.
State of Onchain-Scaling
Bitcoin unlimited has always adhered to onchain-scaling as the best model for Bitcoin and then, Bitcoin Cash. I think we are seeing the consequences of the scaling issues which affected BTC in 2017/2018. High fees drove many users away to “2nd generation” coins., which are now grabbing crypto market share. A milestone was passed on the first of December, when ETH ticked over 50% of BTC’s market cap. I can see this trend continuing, although ETH is also hampered by high transaction fees. Alongside, we are seeing powerful moves up the rankings by the likes of Cardano, Solana, Algorand, Polkadot, Avalanche and many more coins offering very fast confirmations, onchain governance, smart contracts and many features.
I am concerned that BCH has dropped from #6 in November 2020, down to #12 in July and #24 today. I share the view of other members of BU that a step-change is needed in the way new functionality is developed and piloted for BCH. That view is expressed in BUIP166. Hence, I will be actively working during 2022, assisting in the various organisational initiatives needed to successfully launch a complimentary blockchain: Nexa.
Incorporation
B.U. Incorporated is registered with articles of association which reflect our non-profit goals and original founding articles. The transition will be completed in Q1 this year. Further info here.
Final Words
My objective will be to continue good stewardship of the BU voting process, seeing VotePeer become the application used. I will continue to ensure the membership’s collective will is reflected in all passed BUIPs. I remain committed to advancing Bitcoin Cash, while also forging ahead with the BU team on the complimentary blockchain.
As previously, the mission has not changed: I will continue what we have started. Improve facets of BU’s operation with the goal of realising peer-to-peer decentralized currency for the world.