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Core Bitcoin Devs Leave Project, Create New Currency Called Decred (softpedia.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Core developers in the Bitcoin project have left and started a new currency called Decred. Developers are citing a lack of transparency and a conflict of interests between the group that funds the actual Bitcoin software development, and the decisions taken inside the project. Jacob Yocom-Piatt, CEO at Company 0, who has funded development of Bitcoin since early 2013: "This is in part due to a lack of mechanisms and pathways for funding development work directly from the community, and as a result Bitcoin development is funded by external entities that create conflicts of interest between the developers and the representative power of the community that uses Bitcoin."
This is not an exodus of core developers from the Bitcoin project. This is a small group of developers, some of whom have contributed to Bitcoin, who are creating a new cryptocurrency to address some of the governance problems cryptocurrency projects have faced. "Decred" stands for "decentralized credits" and will employ both Proof of Work and Proof of Stake in a novel way to secure the blockchain while avoiding centralization pressures.
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As far as I know the only bitcoin core developer working on an altcoin is gavin andresen.
BitcoinXT is not an altcoin; it's an attempt to increase the bitcoin blocksize. It does not change any bitcoin rules unless 75% of the hashing power is running it. BitcoinXT has not been widely adopted yet, but Coinbase just started running it in production, so it will be interesting to see if others follow their lead. But calling it an altcoin will only add to, rather than avoid, confusion. In fact, some moderators are actively censoring discussion of BitcoinXT on the most popular bitcoin reddit board, and they are trying to justify this censorship by calling BitcoinXT an altcoin. So, calling BitcoinXT an "altcoin" is a very contentious issue right now.
It didn't "work", it hasn't even had as much penetration as some offline pyramid schemes (eg. that one that took in Albania - yes not even as big as a the Albanian economy).
Instead of having a fake crypto-currency with just the crypto we need something backed by some sort of assets so it can actually be a currency. A promise of value from some recluse with a fake name is only of worth to people who will trust just about anything. There's no point pretending it's like the stuff in the fictional "cryptonomicon" without the gold, some asset or some actual productive entity behind it. A "fiat" currency depends on someone that can be trusted, who has a lot of assets AND a major income stream giving a promise. Thus not something that works for Zimbabwe and not something that works for a recluse with a fake name on the internet.
By increasing the block size you fork the block chain and people can choose to stick with the original or go with the new, forked chain.
Alternate block chain = alternate crypto currency, regardless of how many people join in.