🧱 In Bitcoin Core: My Way or the Highway
Bitcoin is not a democracy.
Bitcoin is a consensus protocol with rules, not rulers.
When a Bitcoin Core developer says “my way or the highway,” it’s not arrogance — it’s a commitment to immutability.
It means every change must follow logic, evidence, and network consensus — not individual ego or emotional majorities.
In the open-source world, “my way or the highway” doesn’t mean “I’m right, you’re wrong.”
It means:
“This is the code I write, based on the principles I believe in — and if you disagree, you’re free to fork.”
That’s absolute freedom.
No one is forced to follow.
No one can force others to agree.
Forking isn’t punishment — it’s the purest expression of liberty.
Bitcoin has endured for 16 years not because it pleases everyone,
but because it refuses to compromise.
You can debate, disagree, even split —
but you cannot force Bitcoin Core to betray its principles.
Bitcoin doesn’t negotiate with power.
It doesn’t bend to governments.
It doesn’t chase trends.
It doesn’t add convenience if that convenience weakens integrity.
Bitcoin has only one rule:
“Run your node. Verify for yourself.”
And if you don’t like it?
There’s the door — fork it.
🧠Insight
The phrase “In Bitcoin Core: my way or the highway” captures the essence of decentralization:
No one “owns” Bitcoin.
Anyone can propose, but no one can impose.
Power lies in the nodes, not in developers, miners, or governments.
It’s the architecture of freedom — where each individual bears responsibility for the truth they choose to verify.