Philosophical Foundations of Cryptocurrency Splits: Freedom, Governance, and Control

Most literature on cryptocurrency splits focuses on technical causes, while this article examines the philosophical and ideological conflicts behind them. Competing interpretations of freedom drive major network divisions. Bitcoin (BTC) emphasizes decentralization to resist control, bitcoin cash (BCH) champions free-market flexibility, ethereum (ETH) protects universal property rights, ethereum classic (ETC) upholds immutability, and bitcoin SV (BSV) prioritizes governance transparency. The major forks (ETC, BCH, and BSV) highlight tensions between decentralization and flexibility, immutability and intervention, and privacy and transparency. These disputes reveal how blockchain networks function as laboratories for broader societal debates on governance, control, and financial freedom. Instead of converging on a single vision, the ecosystem sustains diverse and evolving approaches to freedom.