Did Bitcoin’s Most Controversial Twitter Handle Just Change Hands?
The @Bitcoin Twitter handle appeared to switch allegiances when it deleted old pro-BCH posts, and redirected the Bitcoin whitepaper. But why? | Source: Shutterstock
By CCN.com: The long-running conflict between Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) supporters took another turn on Monday. The @Bitcoin Twitter handle, which previously showed support for the BCH community, appeared to switch sides suddenly.
Within hours, hundreds of pro-BCH posts were deleted from the account, though others – including the pinned tweet – curiously remain. Meanwhile, the link to the Bitcoin whitepaper from the Twitter handle was redirected from Bitcoin.com (a pro-BCH website) to Bitcoin.org (a pro-BTC website).
With no word on the matter from either the owner(s) of the @Bitcoin account, or the Bitcoin.org site owner, the Bitcoin Cash community has been left to speculate .
And speculate they have.
Several theories have been put forth, ranging from the Twitter account being hijacked to the owner deciding to sell the account to another user.
More conspiratorial theories place Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey as the main culprit in the matter. Suspicion falls on Dorsey largely due to his investment in Lightning Network developer Lightning Labs , and his refusal to entertain cryptocurrencies other than BTC on Square’s Cash App.
Others still suggest this yet another attempt at censorship by Blockstream – the private company behind much of the flagship cryptocurrency’s development.
Bitcoin Propaganda Wars Show No Sign of Ending Soon
The online real-estate occupied by the @Bitcoin Twitter account is well worth fighting over. At just under 1 million followers, the handle is no doubt one of the first stops for those searching for information on the cryptocurrency for the first time.
The conflict between BTC and BCH supporters has already seen much of the internet divided up into tribal territories. Bitcoin.org and the /r/Bitcoin subreddit are specifically pro-BTC, and will ridicule, harass, or ban any Bitcoin Cash supporter who wanders in there.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin.com and the /r/BTC subreddit fly the colors of BCH, and their treatment of Bitcoin supporters, while less vehement, is comparable.
Crypto investor Roger Ver was previously thought to be in control of the @Bitcoin account. Many still associate Ver with the handle, despite the Bitcoin Cash figurehead claiming he had no connection with it in April of last year.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Bitcoin.org, who goes by the alias @Cobra, has been very vocal about his distaste for Bitcoin Cash. In January 2019, he suggested the BCH coin price would crash to zero if it didn’t find new leadership.
Bitcoin Cash hard forked from the BTC blockchain in 2017 due to internal conflict over the BTC block size.
The battle of the two Satoshi spawn rages on.
