Crypto entrepreneur and Bitcoin.com founder Roger Ver announced on March 17, 2024, the publication of a new 304-page book titled 'Hijacking Bitcoin: The Hidden History of BTC,' co-authored with Steve Patterson and featuring an introduction by economist Jeffrey Tucker of the Brownstone Institute. The book is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and is set for its official release on April 4, 2024. As of March 17, archived data from Amazon's Hot New Releases in the economics category shows Ver's memoir topping the list at number one, surpassing Gary Stevenson's 'The Trading Game' and Thomas Sowell's 'Basic Economics, Fifth Edition.'
Core Thesis: Bitcoin's Design Was Altered
According to the book's summary, Ver argues that Bitcoin's original promise 'was broken after a small group of insiders took over the project and fundamentally changed Bitcoin's design.' The book covers topics such as Bitcoin fundamentals, the store of value versus medium of exchange debate, block size conflicts, censorship, and the Lightning Network. Ver explains that he has spent over thirteen years championing Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as the next evolution of financial systems, convinced of their capacity to forge a freer and wealthier society. Yet, he writes in the first chapter: 'This book is not a love story, and I wish it did not have to be written. The project I got involved with in 2011 has been hijacked and changed for the worse.'
Jeffrey Tucker echoes a similar sentiment in his introduction: 'The story you will read here is of tragedy, the chronicle of an emancipationist monetary technology subverted to other ends. It’s a painful read, to be sure, and the first time this story has been told with this much detail and sophistication. We had the chance to free the world. That chance was missed, likely hijacked and subverted.'
The book's release comes amid ongoing debates within the Bitcoin community over scaling, decentralization, and governance. Ver, a long-time advocate of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), has historically clashed with the core Bitcoin development team. Through extensive historical details and firsthand perspectives, 'Hijacking Bitcoin' attempts to reconstruct key junctures and internal power struggles during Bitcoin's evolution, offering readers a narrative that diverges sharply from the commonly accepted history.
Market data confirms the book's strong reception: as of March 17, it ranked first on Amazon's economics hot new releases list. Many crypto observers believe Ver's new book will further fuel discussions about Bitcoin's governance and development direction, potentially prompting more investors to reexamine Bitcoin’s history and future prospects.