Sjors Provoost: Bitcoin Core Development, the Block Size Wars, and His New Book

MIT's Bitcoin Expo provided a unique opportunity to engage with Sjors Provoost, a physicist turned Bitcoin Core developer. His journey into the world of Bitcoin began in 2017, a pivotal year in Bitcoin's history.

This interview dives into the inner workings of the Bitcoin Core project. We discuss its structure, the tasks involved, and the difficulties contributors might face.

If you're interested in learning more about Bitcoin and its technical details, be sure to check out the Bitcoin, Explained podcast co-hosted by Sjors Provoost and Aaron van Wirdum, the Editor in Chief of Bitcoin Magazine. Together, they explore various facets of Bitcoin in each episode. Moreover, Sjors has penned the book "Bitcoin: A Work In Progress," serving as a companion to the podcast. Each chapter delves into a specific technical aspect of Bitcoin.

output: MIT's Bitcoin Expo last month provided a unique opportunity to engage with Bitcoin Core developer Sjors Provoost.

Sjors is a physicist who pivoted to become a Bitcoin developer, a trend that seems to be emerging. He began contributing to Bitcoin Core in 2017, a very turbulent time during which the activation of Segregated Witness was playing out in the culmination of the block size wars with the User Activated Softfork and the New York Agreement.

He is also the co-host of Bitcoin, Explained, a podcast done with Aaron van Wirdum, the current Editor in Chief of Bitcoin Magazine. Most recently he has also written the book Bitcoin: A Work In Progress, explaining technical aspects of Bitcoin. Each chapter pairs with an episode of the podcast.

We talked about the Bitcoin Core project itself. How it’s organized, what it’s like to work on, and some of the challenges that can pop up for those who take the leap into contributing directly to the Bitcoin Core itself.