The in-house fighting and name calling within the Bitcoin community continue and Gavin Andersen seems to be the target now. Despite being one of the early contributors on Bitcoin, Andersen is being attacked for the role he played with Craig Wright and others in the Bitcoin SV ecosystem.

Smear Campaigns Should Stop

Bitcoin SV and some of its proponents are making the news these days. While the cryptocurrency is facing a ban on some exchanges, the proponents such as Craig Wright, Calvin Alyre, and now Andersen are under attack with Wright, of course paying a heavy price.

However, there are some who believe that the name calling needs to stop. Jeff Garzik, also an early contributor to Bitcoin advocates the need to prevent the smearing going on the crypto space. He tweeted that “Pattern of a Bitcoin core cultist: Anybody on the “hate list” receives extra energy, amplifying and resurfacing old smears and meme campaigns upon new mentions. Andersen did not have a “history of recklessness” and this attempt to revive old maximalist smear campaigns is just sad.”

This statement comes after a post by Vijay Boyapati regarding the role of Gavin Andersen in the death of Bitcoin SV. Vijay claims a lot of the blame should rest on Andersen. He tweeted that “As we observe BCash SV’s death rattle, it would be well to ponder how this farce ever came to pass. I believe a lot of the blame rests on the shoulders of Gavin Andresen who traded away the credibility he won managing #Bitcoin’s repo to a shambling buffoon who swindled him.” However, Erik Voorhees, the CEO of Shapeshift replied that Vijay shouldn’t be eager to cast blame, acknowledging the Gavin is one of the most critical people in Bitcoin’s history. Vijay maintains that Andersen’s importance is the reason why his vouching for Craig Wright is damaging.

Andersen’s Controversies Go Way Back. The personal vendetta against Andersen dates back to tweets by Tuur Demeester two years ago. Demeester was of the view that if Gavin is the CTO of Bitcoin, then he would run the cryptocurrency to the ground. However, Gavin was the lead maintainer for Bitcoin for quite a while, during which period Bitcoin recorded successful developments.

Throughout his argument, Vijay maintains that Anderson knew what exactly he was doing when he endorsed Bitcoin SV and Craig Wright as the real Satoshi. Some comments on the threat supported Vijay’s theory, with one going as far as suggesting that Gavin was actively trying to destroy Bitcoin.

Whatever the view, the in-house arguments, name calling, personal vendettas and more are harming the Bitcoin community. At a time when Bitcoin and the entire crypto space is trying to gain relevance in the international community, the arguments amongst famous figures are doing the industry little to no good.

The Bitcoin community has the right to form opinions, critic or support famous personalities. However, it shouldn’t be done at the detriment of the general good. The recent Bitcoin SV case and subsequent name calling of those behind the project is showcasing a bad image for the crypto sector.

While people are bound to make mistakes, the crypto community should recognize the role Gavin played in the development of Bitcoin over the years. There can be opinions, critics, and support for ideas and personalities without resulting to name calling and smearing of reputations.