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- BRC-20’s creator isn’t comfortable with the planned upgrade of the protocol saying it’s bound to introduce centralization
- The upgrade is being supported by BRC-20 marketplace UniSat
- UniSat believes that the update won’t split the protocol to an independent fork
BRC-20 creator pseudonymously known as Domo has expressed his concerns on the upcoming upgrade of the platform saying it’s likely to increase centralization and introduce a fork. The upgrade’s top supporter, BRC-20 marketplace UniSat, has downplayed Domo’s concerns noting that it won’t split the protocol. The differing views about the impact of the upgrade have divided the Bitcoin Ordinals community with those opposing it questioning why they had to wait for nine months.
It’s Not Backward Compatible?
According to Domo, the BRC-20 marketplace is misleading the community with its explanation. Domo noted that the update, the Ordinals Jubilee upgrade, isn’t backward compatible meaning it may affect Bitcoin inscriptions powered by the BRC-20 standard.
Recognizing the serious implications and valuations involved, I believe rushing these updates in BRC20 is reckless, disregards their peer indexers, and could potentially harm the broader community of BRC20 users. The 0.8/0.9 incident highlighted the complexities of integrating… https://t.co/RccP7bYdVY
— domo (@domodata) January 2, 2024
Domo is also concerned that there’s no time to “safely test the update,” look for bugs and rally the community behind the upgrade.
UniSat, on the other hand, holds that the upgrade is advantageous to the Ordinals project since it helps it reduce “historical [and] undefined behaviors,” adding that it prepares the BRC-20 standard for future development.
UniSat will follow the Ordinals Jubilee upgrade, to confirm that brc-20 is still on Ordinals without splitting into an isolated protocol.
Also, a whitepaper is arriving on January 31. 2024, which is probably the most significant present we are able to deliver since last…
— UniSat Wallet – Store, Inscribe and Search. (@unisat_wallet) January 2, 2024
Dashjr Wants Ordinals Out
The BRC-20 marketplace also refuted claims it was out to fork the protocol saying there were other more “opportune moments” in the course of BRC-20 history.
The disagreements between the two entities add to controversies surrounding the Bitcoin Ordinals project. Last month, for example, Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr proposed to “fix” the ordinals project by eliminating it from the Bitcoin blockchain. Dashjr believes Ordinals are a fluke that feeds on a vulnerability on the blockchain.
With Domo concerned that UniSat’s proposed upgrade will harm items already inscribed on the blockchain, it’s to be seen which side the community will support.