Vitalik Buterin has taken a veiled swipe at self-proclaimed bitcoin creator Craig Wright and nChain over the blockchain patent portfolio. Vitalik tweeted, “If you’re bragging about how many “blockchain patents” your country/company/organization has, you don’t understand blockchains.” Earlier Craig Wright had claimed that nChain filed more than 800 applications for blockchain patents and has been granted between 50 to 100. However, experts believe that this patent portfolio poses a legal threat to blockchain projects from Bitcoin Cash to Lightning.
Vitalik’s tweet creates a heated debate on twitter.
Vitalik’s tweet about blockchain patent created a twitter feud as several attacked the Ethereum founder as some agreed with him. Coingeek founder and a well-known name in the crypto industry Calvin Ayre replied by saying that Buterin doesn’t understand blockchain and claimed that Ethereum was a platform that had cultivated ICO scams. Your tech has been used for more scams in the ICO shitecoin storm than the world has ever seen. History will not be kind, he wrote. He also added that blockchain patents are a real thing. The CEO of Dragonchain Joe Roets published a blog post in support of both blockchain’s open-source philosophy and the patent system.
The President of the Bitcoin Association is in favor of blockchain patents.
Earlier in March, President of the Bitcoin Association, Jimmy Nguyen, noted that the actual number of patents filed had only just reached 666. He summed up the fears of the blockchain community, saying, “If you listen to the online trolls, Craig is hell-bent on patenting all of Bitcoin and the entire blockchain as part of his quest for world domination.” Jimmy Nguyen is also a former patent attorney and ex CEO nChain CEO. He said that it was only right that blockchain companies seek to patent their technologies. Like any sensible business, we also like to protect our investment by securing intellectual property rights when appropriate, he noted. He further noted that nChain had produced the world’s largest blockchain patent portfolio.
