The alleged Bitcoin-focused company Blockstream has raised over $100 million publicly, but has yet to be forthright with the Bitcoin community. It’s time for people within the Bitcoin space to start holding them accountable. Blockstream’s dishonesty should have a bright light shined on it so everyone is aware of their manipulation and deceit.
Also read: Bitcoin Intentions: Are We Aiming to Replace the Status Quo or Become Them?
In late 2014, Blockstream went public with their company after being financed by banking and venture capital firms such as AXA, Khosla Ventures, Horizon Ventures, and others. Within six months, Blockstream said it would be focusing its time not only on sidechains, which it was founded on, but on the Lightning Network too. Since that time, Blockstream hasn’t produced much to advance the Bitcoin ecosystem. However, they have undoubtedly done many things to derail it and cause harm to it.
Re-inventing the SWIFT Network
Four years after going public, Blockstream finally released its coveted sidechain system to the public. The only problem is the product they released, Liquid, isn’t intended for general use. It is made specifically for private Bitcoin exchanges. The premise of Liquid is to take Bitcoin transactions off-chain and move them to a private sidechain of federated exchanges. As Forbes writer Frances Coppola points out:
“It isn’t possible to improve liquidity while maintaining full decentralization and trustlessness. So Blockstream cheerfully compromises both of these prized features. It appoints a small group of trusted institutions to validate transactions and submit them to the main Bitcoin chain.”
Aside from the Blockstream Liquid sidechain being intended for a private consortium of businesses, astonishingly, Blockstream CEO Adam Back is openly pushing for individuals to convert their Bitcoin into Bitcoin
