Bitcoin's 'Toxic' Twitter 'Culture War' Explained

This text from a bitcoin enthusiast friend aptly described the confusion on social media platform Twitter in recent days, when leading members of the bitcoin developer and startup ecosystem have been fighting over bitcoin's "Culture" and whether it needs to be changed or improved.

The root of the debate: Does bitcoin have a culture problem? Is there too much "Toxicity"? And yet, as Twitter is a free-for-all, there were all sorts of sub-parts to the debate, centering on other questions: Is bitcoin inclusive enough? Why is Twitter so harsh? And what, exactly is bitcoin culture?

Amidst the discussion that followed came Neil Woodfine, Blockstream's marketing director, who argued that bitcoin's culture can seem unwelcoming partly because there are so many fraudsters in the industry trying to make a quick buck.

"If you're unhappy with bitcoin culture, sorry, you're the problem. Bitcoin is better off without you-you're not cut out for the challenges ahead. You're not good under pressure, you're too sensitive, and you lack conviction."

The most well-known of which was bitcoin's scaling debate, which abruptly ended when a minority of bitcoiners broke off to create bitcoin cash.

Others had similar reservations with the idea bitcoin's culture is static, arguing that the culture isn't set in stone.

"Totally wrong. That some dudes on Twitter can declaim what bitcoin's culture is and should forever be is ridiculous. We're still building the culture, and we *can* make it better," argued Chaincode developer John Newbery, leading into a conversation about how bitcoin developers aren't a very diverse group and he wants people of various cultural backgrounds to feel more welcome.

In what might have been the climax of the debate, bitcoin developer Matt Corallo blocked Blockstream CSO Samson Mow, going on to argue some individuals at the bitcoin tech startup Blockstream's culture are "Toxic." Corallo helped to found the startup in 2014.

"Some people say we should promote better culture that is more inclusive and respectful. Other people say network protocols must remain neutral and not care about cultural issues. They are both right," argued Ciphrex co-founder CEO Eric Lombrozo, though he later argued that Twitter culture - which he described as "Mostly a bunch of dudes trying to win stupid prizes" - isn't representative of bitcoin's overall culture.

BitTorrent creator and bitcoin developer Bram Cohen also blames the "Toxicity" on the social media platform Twitter specifically.