This ideological battle, and the strength of the animosity between bitcoin evangelists and their critics, means that it’s hard to have a nuanced discussion about the industry, and both sides have become entrenched in their positions.

According to de Vries, it would be perfectly possible, from a technical perspective, for Bitcoin to follow in the footsteps of the Ethereum network. “Bitcoin could move to PoS, no problem,” he says. “But it’s a social challenge.”

De Vries is often attacked by bitcoiners, who claim he is incentivized by…