Who is The Charlatan?

We dive into the mystery of the newest Bitcoin Core maintainer and the project to separate consensus code. From GitHub hierarchies to the quest for client diversity, learn how a $2 trillion network is actually governed and why the "lead maintainer" no longer exists.

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Explaining the latest shakeup in Bitcoin development: the addition of a sixth Bitcoin Core maintainer known as "The Charlatan." We explore the history of Bitcoin’s governance—from Satoshi to Wladimir van der Laan—and why the project has moved away from a single lead maintainer. We also break down the "Bitcoin kernel" project, an initiative to separate consensus code to allow for a more diverse ecosystem of Bitcoin clients, and address the common conspiracies surrounding who really controls the network.

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Notes:

* Bitcoin is a $2 trillion network asset.

* Bitcoin Core has six current maintainers.

* No person officially holds lead maintainer title.

* GitHub is a Microsoft-owned product.

* Bitcoin on path to $100 trillion valuation.

* New maintainer added first time since Feb 2023.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

03:09 What's Github?

05:29 What is a Maintainer?

09:27 Client diversity

16:24 Lead maintainer

18:28 Faketoshi

26:15 New Maintainer

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