Bitcoin (BTC) tech entrepreneur Jonathan Hamel appeared in front of Canada’s House of Commons Standard Committee on Finance yesterday, March 19, and declared: “Pay close attention, other cryptocurrencies are downright scams, like BCash [Bitcoin Cash (BCH)].”
Hamel first posted on Twitter about his upcoming testimony during a Parliamentary cryptocurrency discussion, without mentioning BCH:
I will appear today before the @OurCommons Standing Committee on Finance to explain how Canada became a leader in the Bitcoin industry and why excessive regulation could slow down innovation in the Blockchain space https://t.co/QZkoWVi63x
— Jonathan Hamel (@jhamel) March 19, 2018
However, Hamel had then posted on Reddit prior to giving the crypto testimony, writing, “Spoiler: I’m gonna say ‘Bcash is a scam’ and it’s gonna be archived forever in the Parliamentary records (not a blockchain but still…) Donations are welcome,” followed by a crypto wallet address and a picture of his Bitcoin patterned socks.
Hamel’s Reddit comment sparked backlash in the Reddit community, with some users seeing his inclusion of an, albeit attempting to be humorous, request for donations as crossing an ethical line. Reddit user TheGreatMuffin wrote,
“Asking for donations for a statement you made while a government hearing is kinda undermining the expertise of your whole talk, in the eyes of the listeners and media.. You are aware you are out in public here?
I appreciate straightforwardness but asking for donations on a public forum for a statement made on a governmental hearing is really not smart at all.”
The debate between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, a well-known fork that took place in August 2017 and is touted by crypto personas like Roger Ver, came to a head in late February when BTC transaction fees dipped below the price of BCH — lower transaction fees being one of BCH’s reported main advantages over BTC.
Reddit user ambivalentasf*** added a perspective about the BTC v. BCH debate to the previous Reddit comments:
“Not to mention the fact that in terms of any governing body trying to distinguish between legitimate tech and true scams, Bcash does not clearly distinguish itself as a ‘scam’ while leaving Bitcoin legit. Both Bitcoin and Bcash are susceptible to influence by bad actors with enough capital to create a wake. So while assumptions being made about the motivations of actors like Roger Ver might be correct, if you seek to have the government recognize a forked chain of Bitcoin as a scam, how do you anticipate they are going to evaluate the parent technology from which Bcash forked?
The point is there is nothing inherent to Bcash protocol that makes it a ‘scam’ while Bitcoin is not.”
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