16th Anniversary of the Bitcoin Genesis Block: A Look Back at the 2013 News Contact Controversy

In April 2013, the "Bitcoin News Center" page on Bitcoin.org sparked a heated debate. This seemingly trivial topic touched on broader cultural issues such as the essence of Bitcoin, its development strategy, and who truly represents Bitcoin.

The issue originated from Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn's proposal to establish a news center page on Bitcoin.org to list media contacts. However, a huge controversy arose over whether Roger Ver and Jon Matonis should be included on the list. Some core developers believe that their political stance is too extreme and that they are unsuitable to serve as representatives of Bitcoin.

This decision sparked a strong backlash within the community. Many believe that excluding Ver and Matonis goes against the open spirit of Bitcoin. Erik Voorhees and others pointed out that Bitcoin should not compromise to mainstream but should stick to its principles. Andreas Antonopoulos strongly criticized the lack of transparency and community consensus in this process.

The debate surrounding this list lasted for several months. Ultimately, Bitcoin.org removed the page, instead recommending the Bitcoin Foundation and the newly established bitcoinpresscenter.org by Andreas. The latter listed over 50 Bitcoin experts from diverse backgrounds, avoiding the controversies associated with centralization.

Although this debate is just a minor episode in the history of Bitcoin, it reflects broader issues: how to balance different voices in a decentralized system? Who is qualified to represent Bitcoin? What is the essence of Bitcoin? These questions still exist today.

Although the news center page was eventually taken down, it did improve the quality of Bitcoin news coverage to some extent. This brief attempt indicates that any overly centralized mechanism is difficult to sustain in the long term within the Bitcoin ecosystem. However, Bitcoin itself remains strong and continues to progress.