- Roger Ver was a massive early advocate for Bitcoin, helping grow its initial user base
- Ver was known as “Bitcoin Jesus” because of his proselytising, but the 2017 Bitcoin Cash fork killed this narrative
- How does Ver’s influence compare to other Bitcoin pioneers?
Roger Ver is one of the most controversial Bitcoin pioneers to feature in our series, chiefly because of the Bitcoin Cash fork he pioneered in 2017. Known as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his early advocacy, Ver played a huge role in increasing Bitcoin’s early awareness until the blocksize war led to an irreparable rift within the community. But how much of a pioneer was Ver compared to the likes of Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, and Gavin Andresen.
Early Advocacy
Roger Ver’s journey with Bitcoin began in early 2011, when he saw it as a tool to promote economic freedom, aligning with his strong libertarian beliefs. Between 2011 and 2014, Ver was instrumental in helping to build the Bitcoin ecosystem. He invested in early Bitcoin startups, including BitPay, Blockchain.info, Kraken, and more, with his financial support and promotion helping these companies survive and thrive, cementing Bitcoin’s infrastructure.
Ver became a central figure at Bitcoin conferences, spreading awareness and advocating for the cryptocurrency’s potential to change the world.
In 2015, as the blocksize war began, Ver began advocating for increasing Bitcoin’s block size to improve scalability, believing that higher transaction speeds and lower fees were necessary for mass adoption. This debate within the Bitcoin community sparked growing tensions. While some saw Ver’s position as practical for scaling Bitcoin, others argued it would compromise the decentralized nature of the network.
Parting of the Ways
Ver’s advocacy for a larger block size came to a head in 2017, leading to the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hard fork. Bitcoin Cash split from Bitcoin, with Ver championing BCH as the true embodiment of Bitcoin’s original vision. He criticized Bitcoin’s direction, arguing that high fees and slow transactions undermined its utility as “peer-to-peer electronic cash.” This move made Ver a divisive figure in the crypto community.
After the split, Ver became the face of Bitcoin Cash, continuing to promote it as a more scalable alternative to Bitcoin. Although Bitcoin Cash attracted a passionate following, it never achieved the same level of adoption or success as Bitcoin. Ver’s influence remained strong within the Bitcoin Cash community, but his role in Bitcoin’s core development diminished after the fork.
Initial Support Cannot be Ignored
Roger Ver was crucial in Bitcoin’s early success, helping to get the word out when it was still almost unknown, predicting its rise. However, his role in the controversial Bitcoin Cash split and the ensuing divide in the community reduced his overall impact compared to more universally respected figures like Hal Finney.
We can therefore give Roger Ver a 7/10 ranking for his influence on Bitcoin, all of which can be traced back to his work between 2011 and 2015.
