blockstream want their liquid coin to be pegged for bitcoin.. so in short term liquid is worth the same.. then by reading some of the proposals they want to do to bitcoin, they want to ruin bitcoin so that people will play with their liquid..
EG
ReplaceByFee
this means that without a signature anyone can edit the recipients funds..
this was proposed so that retailers that see a customers transaction can play around with that tx to change the values to ensure it has the highest fee to ensure the retailer gets paid.
the ideology is good as it means the retailer can fight a customer who tries to double spend.. the realism is that a retailer can leave the customers 'change' address empty.
.. i think you can see how this can be abused.
no block limit increase
by not doing block limit increases, but instead allowing their own altcoins to have such larger capacity, will further kill off bitcoins usability and desirability.
confidential transactions
by adding 2.5kb of data to a transaction they can hide the bitcoin value a customer will see.. this means it can literally hide how much you are sending to an address.. though some want more anonymity.. by adding it to bitcoin it will bloat the transaction. by making it so that there will only be < 400 transactions a block instead of the potential of ~4000
.. i think you can see how without upping the block limit, and then reducing the number of transactions allowed.. will hurt bitcoin
blockstream want their 'liquid' coins to eventually be worth $400+ without actually doing 7 years of mining and spending billions on electric to achieve it.. then kill off bitcoin so that it forces people to use their coins..
I'm close to agreeing, but maybe just a touch more moderately. It's fair to raise issues with any "features" like these containing glaring pitfalls, but the proposals like ReplaceByFee and Confidential Transactions will only find their way into circulation if the majority of nodes decide to run software containing them. It's also fair to point out legitimate conflicts of interest with Blockstream, which I agree there are many. But there's still a difference between conflict of interest and full blown conspiracy and I'm not sure we've reached that point just yet. There's little difference between this conspiracy stance and the one where people were suggesting that Gavin and Mike were trying to "take over". I never took that argument seriously, because it sounds crazy. I'm not saying there aren't problems with Blockstream, as it does have certain insidious qualities, but maybe just tone it down a notch?
So then to move on to the comments by DooMad - there is a very fine line between conflict of interest (which is simply an observational FACT regarding Blockstream involvement with Core Dev >>> Lightning/Liquid, and with Mike Hearn's involvement with XT>>>R3CEV/Banks - it just is what it is and it is obvious) and then to move that line just slightly to reach "Conspiracy Theory." And regarding "conspiracy theory", it has a tendency to be assoiated with tinfoil hat nutjobs and nonsense - and YET, sometimes they really are "out to get you" Or in this case.... to take their conflict of interest positions, and then conciously, and with determined effort attempt to leverage that for their own ends, in clear conflict with the greater good.
And honestly, I think that it really isn't that far of a leap given the situations - to make that jump. And that relates to both Blockstream & Hearns. I still have a gut feeling that Gavin really tries and wrestles with moral dilemnas, loyalty to the overall technology and vision etc. I'm not sure how he is doing with that - but I give him a star for at least pretending to try in his own mind.
The SOLUTION would be that a middle road is taken. Small (2mb) immediate increase - but with automatic increases, albeit at a slower more controlled pace than XT. At the same time, full encouragement and kudos to Sidechain development to continue and grow. Regarding SegWig, I'm all for it from what I can understand, just not as THE 100% immediate solution. I defer to the technology experts on this matter. If it can be implemented safely, and without negative consequences, and without creating any irreversible consequences - I say go for it, or anything else that improves and strengthens the overall technology.
The blocksize increase MUST happen in any rational solution - and I reference the clear concensus on this fact. And even if you want to argue concensus, I still say that you cannot have a small group with clear conflict of interest making decisions that can so dramatically hinder the growth or possibilities inherent in the technology. I also say that you must incorporate some sort of automated increase, because Bitcoin has grown up a bit. It now plays in the world of global finance. Global finance needs stability to survive. It needs predictability. You are not going to see mass adoption be embraced by those that can make it happen... in the current environment where there is even a remote possibility that you have small "Core" of biased and conflict challenged individuals that could destroy/hijaak/jeopardize the system at heir future whim. So you have to at least establish a few years worth of stable and foreseeable path in the technology. This would be HUGE, and would immediately free up investment time, money and resources to get to work.
Lastly - this middle of the road solution is actually the BEST path for Bitcoin, the most balanced path. It allows Bitcoin to grow, but to allow it to do so in a more controlled fashion than XT. The technology surrounding mining and node buildout can continue to parallel that growth at a reasonable pace. That protects the decentralization. And because there are smaller blocksize caps looming in stages, there is still enough emphasis and benefit put on sidechain solutions in order to keep main chain transactions manageable.
So everybody gets something. The biggest winner is the technology itself. It isn't choked and crippled, nad kept safe in this little controlled box (Blockstream Vision), and it isn't fed steroids and forced to grow in an unhealthy and forced manner (XT Vision).
It is sane. It is rational. And what is really really scary is that this clear and simple path can't find a way forward. And right now.... I don't think you can blame this on Mike Hearn / XT anymore.
RIGHT NOW.... the blame is on Blockstream Players. They alone hold the keys to this sane, intelligent middle road.
WILL THE REAL CORE/DEV PLEASE STAND UP?!?!?!
It appears to me that an unbendable, unnegotiable situation currently exists. Petitions can be a powerful force in these types of situations. Hearns tried the other path.... blunt force alternative. Right now we have what looks like American Politics. Far Left vs Far Right, and nobody in the middle speaking for common sense. Perhaps a Petition, if crafted to a sane middle path, could be that voice?