BitPay CEO Supports User-Activated Soft Fork, Hints At Off-Chain Expansion

BitPay CEO Stephen Pair has added to the company’s stance on the Bitcoin scaling issue, stating support for a user-activated soft fork (UASF).

Speaking in an episode of Let’s Talk Bitcoin! on the weekend, Pair said it was “up to users” to decide the future of the Bitcoin network.

“The most important thing, I think, are the users; I really like the idea of a user-activated soft fork followed by a miner activation,” he told host Adam B. Levine along with Andreas Antonopoulos who was also present.

“At a high level, what you’re saying is, “we want to build consensus among the users that there’s this new set of rules we want to enforce on the network,” and the users are expressing their desire for that in one form or another.”

Pair’s view is the latest concerning SegWit activation to paint a positive picture of the UASF, with several well-known community figures also championing the concept.

Former BTCC COO Samson Mow this week announced the winner of a private coding competition for allowing a “safe” UASF, awarding almost six BTC to winner shaolinfry.

Talk has, meanwhile, also turned to a so-called Super UASF, which could ostensibly be implemented without significant upheaval to current network processes.

Pair, meanwhile, stated that off-chain payments had moved to “the front of the queue” at BitPay in the wake of spiraling miner fees, announcing that “exciting things” would be coming in the area.