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Developers with power to change the cryptocurrency’s software hold an unorthodox role, are elusive—and have been known to head off disaster for the coin.
Andrew Chow started tinkering with bitcoin in high school. Unknown to his parents, and before he even had a bank account, the teenage coder set up a website that said “I will work for bitcoin” and provided a wallet address for people to tip him.
Seven years later, Mr. Chow is one of a handful of people who can write changes into the software that underpins the nearly $500 billion cryptocurrency. Their role is critical to bitcoin, yet is largely unknown to the millions who own it.
Known as maintainers, he and four other coders serve as stewards of Bitcoin Core, an open-source program that keeps the cryptocurrency’s digital ledger up-to-date on thousands of computers that make up its network. Their longtime leader departed Thursday, reducing the group’s size to five from six.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-core-maintainers-crypto-7b93804
Andrew Chow started tinkering with bitcoin in high school. Unknown to his parents, and before he even had a bank account, the teenage coder set up a website that said “I will work for bitcoin” and provided a wallet address for people to tip him.
Seven years later, Mr. Chow is one of a handful of people who can write changes into the software that underpins the nearly $500 billion cryptocurrency. Their role is critical to bitcoin, yet is largely unknown to the millions who own it.
Known as maintainers, he and four other coders serve as stewards of Bitcoin Core, an open-source program that keeps the cryptocurrency’s digital ledger up-to-date on thousands of computers that make up its network. Their longtime leader departed Thursday, reducing the group’s size to five from six.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-core-maintainers-crypto-7b93804