Jihan Wu: On the authority of obedience and innovation in the Bitcoin industry

Golden Finance News - Wu Jihan, the founder of Bitmain, a bitcoin mining equipment manufacturing company, has extraordinary influence in the bitcoin market. He spoke on many topics at the "Future of Bitcoin" conference in Arnhem, the Netherlands, which was held from June 30 to July 1. The title of his speech was "Why multiple solutions are important for Bitcoin."

One of the most important things Wu discussed was the psychology of authority surrounding the Bitcoin industry. Wu touched on several popular social psychology experiments and how they are playing a role in the current drama unfolding. More unexpectedly, Wu started by discussing the various different ways that governments are organized in society: aristocracy, monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy.

The Dictatorship of Cryptocurrency Projects

Wu Jihan said that the founders of crypto projects could be tyrants or dictators. He said that usually the founders contribute the most to a project. The founder’s ability is very recognized, he/she knows everyone’s contribution…it’s almost common knowledge. But Wu pointed out that this could lead to problems and build a platform for dictatorship. He believes:

"Why can't we find other avenues like Aristotle described? In open source software, democracy is impossible. This is because the software of developers is very complex and abstract. Who is good and who is bad is obvious most of the time, and you can't vote on the direction of the software. The tyranny is there, and it lacks enforcement. It's not open source software. It's Microsoft Office. Maybe this is why Microsoft is so hated in the open source software community."

Humanity and Obedience to Authority

Wu said tyranny is partly a result of human nature, which tends to obey authority. Humans are primed to obey others, he said. He cited Stanley Milgram's obedience to authority experiments to defend his view.

He also said that humans have inherent biases, such as the halo effect. This means that if people have a certain quality or impression, then other contributors and people may be more willing to follow them. Finally, Wu Jihan mentioned the "bandwagon effect." In this psychological effect, people may follow the crowd or follow others simply because they are doing it.

All of these are social dynamics, he said, and everyone in the cryptocurrency ecosystem has to be careful lest we follow the rulers in the form of developers or programmers. Wu even applied his logic to the case of Satoshi Nakamoto, who he said modified the Bitcoin code multiple times and no one really questioned the move until Jeff Garzik came along. This is something that must be watched, even if it is the creator of Bitcoin, Wu said.

Bitcoin's many implementations of smart contracts and economic incentives

In order to solve the problem of protocol tyranny and hijacked implementation, Wu Jihan proposed that in order for the future of Bitcoin to remain beautiful and develop, the community will need multiple solutions. Wu Jihan said:

“I think we need to encourage multiple solutions so we don’t get held hostage by one. I think some miners in China would be more comfortable switching to a larger block roadmap if we had multiple solutions. Everyone would feel more comfortable switching software. I think we need to encourage multiple solutions because it will help bring new innovation to Bitcoin.”

Mr. Wu also mentioned that Bitcoin has missed out on many great innovations, including smart contracts and the creation of decentralized exchanges. He mentioned that Bitcoin, as a community, is a little late in terms of innovation. He said that the Bitcoin ecosystem is also missing economic rewards for inflation.

The reason Bitcoin missed out on these innovations is that, according to Wu, some Bitcoiners dismiss new innovations by always calling them scammy or skewering other judgmental criticisms. Wu said getting the community out of a follower mentality and convincing them to embrace the possibility of innovation through multiple implementations gives the network and ecosystem room to grow and thrive.

According to Wu, Bitcoin has missed out on these innovations because of some Bitcoiners who have always called them “frauds” or intended to “level out” other comments. Wu said that getting the community out of the follower mentality and convincing them to accept the possibility of innovation through multiple applications will give the network and ecosystem room to grow and thrive.