Market Governance FAQ

Why does this FAQ exist?
There are two main theories of how upgrades to Bitcoin should occur: Market Governance (sometimes called Market Consensus) and Extreme Social Consensus Governance.

Market Governance is very frequently misunderstood by its opponents and also by its supporters. Like microeconomics (on which it is largely based), Market Governance an extremely deep and nuanced subject.

Understanding Market Governance is important because disagreements about Market Governance underlie most disagreements about how to scale Bitcoin and how the Bitcoin protocol should be upgraded.

What are Market Governance and Extreme Social Consensus Governance?
A basic description of both can be found here.

In short, Market Governance is the theory that when disputes about how Bitcoin should be upgraded occur, they should be resolved by giving users a choice and letting market forces play out.

Extreme Social Consensus Government is the theory that no forward-incompatible change to the Bitcoin protocol should be attempted unless nearly all Bitcoin users agree with it.