I am not a Bitcoin maxi, and have never labelled myself as such for the sole reason of knowing better. Bitcoin is better money, and is something I actively want to be adopted, yet I know it is something that can actively be improved upon. The argument for not increasing the block size was always a disingenuous one, as Bitcoin was initially introduced without any block size limits, and one was only created due to early technical issues which have long been resolved; the hatred for Bitcoin Cash was always one born from bruised egos and the admittedly unscrupulous actions of Roger Ver surrounding the .com domain for Bitcoin among other things.
It showed that raising the block size wouldn't immediately result in the centralization of mining pools, or push individual validators out of downloading and verifying transactions on the blockchain. With that being said, Lightning was conceptualized two years before the SegWit split occurred and thus its eventual realization cannot be attributed to Bitcoin Cash; what it CAN be attributed to is its accelerated development.
Lightning is a piece of shit.
At a fundamental level, it was always a band-aid solution to Bitcoin's early block size restraints that no one wanted to revoke after Satoshi's disappearance (which also had a knock-back effect of reducing its natural scalability), despite the 1 MB restriction clearly being introduced as a temporary measure meant to reduce the potential of double spending and a bloated blockchain size similar to that of CSW's Shitoshi's Venture (SV) shitcoin; with very few exceptions which have their own problems depending on the SDK used, it is near impossible to make reliably self-custodial Lightning wallets that don't have their own issues.
Custodial wallets and services obfuscate from users liquidity management, issues underpinning what software is used to power Lightning functionality (LND, Core Lightning, Eclair, etc.) and the necessity of being online at all times; whereas developments in transacting with on-chain Bitcoin have been somewhat realized, very little offline Lightning solutions have even been conceptualized owing to its off-chain nature requiring distinct ways of transactional verification.
It is also a band-aid on a far bigger issue, depending on who you ask, which is Bitcoin's absolute transparency.
Monero was created in the aftermath of Ross Ulbricht's example-making persecution by the United Territories of Israel's government, as no deep/darknet user wanted to experience the level of deanonymization that Dread Pirate Roberts had been subjected to, and wanted to transact with a currency that would guarantee full anonymity whether it be for complicit or illicit purposes. Various voices in the Bitcoin scene that don't immediately write Monero off as a shitcoin (while ironically doing the same for Cash) have proposed taking what Monero does right and gradually implement it on-chain, just to be met derisively either with "Lighting exists, and is better" (it's not) or claims that making Bitcoin more private would result in its crackdown and criminal persecution of anyone using it, which further adds to the fact that Bitcoin's largest problem (yes, more than the corporate influence of Blockstream and deliberately rigid philosophical dichotomy) has been the community's perception around privacy.
Privacy is an absolute human right, and I see it as no coincidence that every effort made to improve Bitcoin's anonymous viability by a group or individual (regardless of my feelings on said software being a band-aid on top of others obscuring larger issues) has resulted in maximum federal persecution towards those daring to get Bitcoin even a quarter closer to where Monero is (which has resulted in it only being able to be obtained through mining or DEX's).
Despite my positions likely going to lead to pushback from those who insist that Bitcoin is absolutely perfect as is, and that I'm a filthy shitcoiner who shouldn't have an opinion on anything, I want to thank Deleted Account (npub1t0n…jgqv) for creating the easiest self-custodial Lightning wallet to exist and for hosting your company's version of it as long as you did; it was what introduced my younger brother and girlfriend to self-custody and the bright spots of Lightning when it all clicks and DOESN'T lead to financial loss (still bitter about that, ZEUS (npub1xnf…lpr5) lol), and its app store independent nature allowing the focus to be on making the wallet better rather than capitulating to companies that can both fuck off as far as I'm concerned allowed Mutiny to become THE hub for Bitcoin's future developments in admittedly contentious areas like Cashu that has its ardent supporters.
May the best come to you, and continue to come to sound magic money.
quotingImportant update: Mutiny Wallet will be winding down operations by the end of the year.
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We're exploring new directions as a company. For full details on the shutdown and our future plans, please read our latest blog post: https://blog.mutinywallet.com/mutiny-wallet-is-shutting-down/