Thread by @Excellion

The #UASF was a defining event of #Bitcoin. 2 years later we may forget what the movement looked like early on. It was never a sure thing. Many people were confused & felt powerless in the face of what looked like massive support for a forced protocol change (NYA/#SegWit2x).

In fact many thought that #Bitcoin was over as we knew it. How could anyone (or any group) go up against such an overwhelming amount of hashrate and corporate backing? It looked like an impossible battle. But Bitcoin and Bitcoiners exist for impossible battles. #RememberTheUASF

All revolutionary movements start small. People started to organize & coordinate. Code was written. Memes were made. Hats were manufactured. Momentum started to build. Eventually the #UASF won the day. It was never a sure thing but we were 100% committed and that’s what mattered.

As @BrianLockhart says, “it was a white knuckle time to be a hodler.” Indeed. But we had to go through it. The #UASF was a collective learning experience for both sides involved (except the select few that are still unable to admit fault), to really learn why #Bitcoin is Bitcoin.

We learned that miner signaling is meaningless because hashrate does not decide what #Bitcoin is. We learned that corporations cannot unilaterally make decisions for Bitcoiners. They can try to make us think they can, but we’d really just be voluntarily giving up our sovereignty.

We also learned that Core devs are not “in charge” as some proclaim. Remember, many devs were very much against #UASF/#BIP148 and consisdered it dangerous. In #Bitcoin, the users decide. You run the software you choose. We can opt-out of contentious changes or forced consensus.

2 years later, as we enjoy this prosperous era of #Bitcoin with tech advancing rapidly, #RememberTheUASF & the lessons. There’ll be other attacks someday & they’ll look insurmountable, but they are not. No one can force you to do anything. That’s what makes Bitcoin special. #UASF