Segwit2X leaders announced that they are suspending their plans for the upcoming 2MB upgrade of Bitcoin.
In an email by Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, which is also signed by the most prominent S2X supporters such as Wences Casares (Xapo), Jihan Wu (Bitmain), Jeff Garzik (Bloq), Peter Smith (Blockchain) and Erik Voorhees (Shapeshift), it is stated:
The Segwit2x effort began in May with a simple purpose: to increase the blocksize and improve Bitcoin scalability. At the time, the Bitcoin community was in crisis after nearly 3 years of heavy debate, and consensus for Segwit seemed like a distant mirage with only 30% support among miners.
Segwit2x found its first success in August, as it broke the deadlock and quickly led to Segwit’s successful activation. Since that time, the team shifted its efforts to phase two of the project - a 2MBblocksize increase.
Our goal has always been a smooth upgrade for Bitcoin. Although we strongly believe in the need for a larger blocksize, there is something we believe is even more important: keeping the community together.
Unfortunately, it is clear that we have not built sufficient consensus for a clean blocksize upgrade at this time. Continuing on the current path could divide the community and be a setback to Bitcoin’s growth. This was never the goal of Segwit2x.
As fees rise on the blockchain, we believe it will eventually become obvious that on-chain capacity increases are necessary. When that happens, we hope the community will come together and find a solution, possibly with a blocksize increase. Until then, we are suspending our plans for the upcoming 2MB upgrade.
We want to thank everyone that contributed constructively to Segwit2x, whether you were in favor or against. Your efforts are what makes Bitcoin great. Bitcoin remains the greatest form of money mankind has ever seen, and we remain dedicated to protecting and fostering its growth worldwide.
Mike Belshe, Wences Casares, Jihan Wu, Jeff Garzik, Peter Smith and Erik Voorhees
As a result of this, the Bitcoin hard fork, initially planned for November 16, will not take place.
Segwit2X was initially backed by many miners and bitcoin companies, but it failed to gain support from Bitcoin Core developers and other community members. Furthermore, prominent figureheads such as Nick Szabo, Charlie Lee, Alex Morcos and others, have been openly against it.
This development changes a lot, as the risk of a Bitcoin chain-split is eliminated, and Bitcoin's price reflects this capitalizing on the news. At the moment of writing, Bitcoin price has risen to a new all-time high at $7,727 (Coinbase), then retracted to $7,626.
Jeff Garzik, Segwit2X project lead, has not commented yet. Recently, Garzik had reassured S2X proponents that the BTC1 client he developed will see continuing development after the now-cancelled hard fork.
On the other hand, Charlie Lee was relieved when the news broke. He wrote:
Segwit2x hardfork has been called off! Common sense prevails. Let's now work together towards scaling safely. We may need something like a 2x hardfork in the future, but let's do it when there's consensus and not rushed