Quote from: desired_username on August 20, 2015, 01:19:18 PM

Bitcoin XT is a fork of bitcoin core which implemented BIP101, the most widely accepted proposition for rising the blocksize. The way BIP101 works prohibits a split.

Too add to the above; it adds some other enhancements to the software too.

To OP: the reason it is so contentious is not really because of the software, it is because of the way it has been implemented. The Bitcoin world has been debating block size for about 2 years.

Some core devs think it's bad, and don't like the guys who did it. They think everyone should agree 100% on every change before it is released. One of those lads controls this forum and another big bitcoin forum, and has been accused of censoring debate. They also claim the extra enhancements are bad too as they sort of enable censorship on the Bitcoin network itself.

Two core devs think it's good (and they created it) and are annoyed at the reaction of the guys who don't like it.

So the second group has released it into the wild to see what everyone else thinks; some people are adopting it as they don't like the forum censorship, some people are adopting it because they believe it is in their financial interests to do so, some people are adopting it because they distrust the fact that the core devs against it all work for the same company, some people are adopting it because they think it is better for the Bitcoin network's long term viability, some people are adopting it see the world burn.

Most people are waiting to see what the nodes and miners will do, as their actions will pretty much seal the fate one way or the other.

In my personal opinion the approach of releasing it to the wild to see what everyone else thinks, despite the strong opposition, is exactly the way Satoshi wanted consensus to happen. i.e. anyone makes a change, releases it, and users flock to the version they prefer. In my opinion once some big users of Bitcoin (the PSPs and miners) make a decision on what THEY want, then that's where consensus and the money will flow.

The reason the price is dropping is that that this is the first time the process of consensus has been really executed via a hard fork. Despite the fact that this is exactly what was envisioned by Bitcoin's creator, it has frightened some holders in to selling bitcoin till it blows over.