So mempool.space recently added features to recognize the transactions of Runes and Ordinals, and the Bitcoin maximalists of money lost completely. As a Bitcoiner and observer of Bitcoin culture, this whole drama felt completely familiar and predictable.
Over time, a split of opinion has emerged between Bitcoin maximalists “, who see Bitcoin only as money and nothing else,” and those who are open to the structures of things in Bitcoin, whether they are new or crypto-esq, such as Ordinals, Runes and Tokens.
As this concept of fragmentation became entrenched, the mempool.space backlash was inevitable.
To clear up some of the FUD going around:
The Mempool Open Source Project does not support the integration of the “ord” daemon – it only displays the data contained in the Bitcoin mempool and the blockchain and the lightning network.
This means that if you look at the transaction…
– mempool (@mempool) October 12, 2024
From a purist’s point of view, anything beyond the Bitcoin protocol is heretical.
Therefore, even the neutral act of mempool.space that shows the data of Runes and Ordinals for its users to see the angry anger. Never mind if it made one of the best open source Bitcoin testers more useful and data-rich – it touched on a “forbidden” topic, and all rationality went out the window.
This reaction followed the playbook perfectly. Capitalists responded to the perceived rebellion with fury, as they did to X.
These clowns were able to bribe the oldest and most prestigious open source project in the space to label the works "it contains ordinals, texts, and runes" like that. It’s embarrassing to say the least.
None of these scams #Bitcoin. All… https://t.co/ietxCH3T1f
— Knut Svanholm ₿ = ∞/21M = 1/🤡🌍 (@knutsvanholm) October 14, 2024
The Season 2 crowd, however, put their money where their mouth was and donated to the cause, doubling the number of individual donors and nearly tripling the project’s annual income from individual donors. They are financially supporting a tool they find useful rather than just complaining. Actions over words.
Bitcoin purists should also put their money where their mouths are and support Bitcoin testers who are blind to the sale of Runes and Ordinals. I haven’t seen them do this instead of just crying about X, which says a lot about them.
Both sides did the truth in the same way.
This kind of drama is inevitable when you have two groups with very different opinions. Although certain views may be ethically extreme, this is ultimately human nature. We will continue to see this clash of purist versus pragmatic as Bitcoin evolves and splits into different philosophies.
Rationality gives way to belief and identity. But understanding these dynamics helps guide mempool responses.
This article is a Take it. The views expressed are entirely those of the author and do not reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.