Going beyond Ethereum

To the mysterious island of Bitcoin Core ⛰️

Hi everyone,

I have big news. I’m going to be expanding my coverage of open-source protocol development and governance to Bitcoin Core.

That’s right, I’m going beyond Ethereum.

My intention when I started this Substack in April 2025 was to use this platform to cover the development of the major open-source protocols underpinning the value in the crypto industry.

I started with what I knew best: the development of the Ethereum protocol. However, I knew this Substack would be incomplete without coverage of the main open-source protocol that inspired the creation of Ethereum and continues to underpin the majority of value in the industry.

Bitcoin Core vs. Ethereum

Since April, I have been workshopping different ideas for covering the evolution of Bitcoin as an open-source technology shaped by the interests of a decentralized collective.

In many respects, the development of Bitcoin is not all that different from that of Ethereum. Both are governed through informal and off-chain governance processes driven by social consensus.

However, the practical details of how this plays out differ significantly between the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities.

For starters, there is only one main implementation of the Bitcoin protocol known as Bitcoin Core. Thus, the reference implementation for Bitcoin is effectively Bitcoin Core.

Secondly, Bitcoin Core development primarily takes place on Internet Relay Chats (IRCs) and public mailing lists, as opposed to Zoom and Discord, which are what’s used for Ethereum protocol development.

Thirdly, the ethos and culture behind Bitcoin Core's development are drastically different from Ethereum's. Hard forks are not culturally acceptable for the former, but they are for the latter.

Major software changes are discouraged in Bitcoin Core, while they are encouraged and actively pursued in Ethereum.

There are also differences in the frequency of upgrades, stakeholders involved, and long-term objectives between the two development communities.

While I can’t say I’m an expert yet on Bitcoin Core development and governance, I’m ready to start making my efforts more public by tracking it as closely as I do Ethereum on this site.

Introducing BTC Before Light

Starting tomorrow, I’m launching a weekly newsletter series called “BTC Before Light.”

BTC Before Light is your guide to Bitcoin Core development and governance. It’s a no-nonsense newsletter that gives you straight takes on the latest updates to core Bitcoin protocol development and delivers the news in a way that is accessible to non-technical readers.

Every week, I’ll share summaries and takeaways of the main discussions from the weekly Bitcoin Core developer meetings, as well as from the Bitcoin developer mailing list. I’ll provide information about the latest Bitcoin Core release and updates on the progress being made for the upcoming release.

Alongside BTC Before Light, I plan to provide additional resources to help readers understand the fundamentals of Bitcoin Core development and get involved in the process themselves. (I’ll share more information about what you can expect from the “BTC Toolkit” series in the forthcoming weeks.)

How to subscribe

If you’re interested in subscribing to BTC Before Light, first, make sure you’re signed up as a subscriber to my Substack:

Free subscribers will receive:

• 1x weekly post in the ACD After Hours newsletter

• 1x weekly post in the BTC Before Light newsletter

Premium subscribers receive the above and the following:

• 2 additional posts in the ACD After Hours newsletter

• Full access to the ACD Toolkit

• Full access to the BTC Toolkit (Coming Soon)

• Access to the Christine D. Kim Subscriber Chat (Moved to Telegram!)

Founding members get all of the above, plus a personalized welcome message and introductory video call with me, the writer of these newsletters.

How to manage your subscription

Once you’re subscribed, you will start to receive updates about Bitcoin Core development in your inbox every Wednesday morning.

To all my existing subscribers who have been reading ACD After Hours and the ACD Toolkit, I recognize you may not be interested in getting updates about Bitcoin Core.

If Bitcoin Core development is not of interest to you, you can easily opt out of the BTC Before Light newsletter, whilst maintaining your subscription to all my Ethereum-focused content.

As I expand my content offerings on this Substack, I encourage all of you to customize your subscriptions regularly so that you receive only the content you want from me.

Here’s how to tailor your email preferences on Substack:

1. Navigate to your account Settings page via www.substack.com/settings. Or when logged into your Substack account, select "Settings" from the drop-down menu.

   

   2. Under Subscriptions, click on the Christine D. Kim publication.

   

   3. On the next page, you will see all the different content series I have on this website, such as ACD After Hours and BTC Before Light. Slide the toggle next to each section to customize the notifications you receive from me.

   

Ending on a personal note

While you can opt out of the BTC Before Light series, I highly recommend you don’t, even if you’re not interested in the development of Bitcoin, because this series, coupled with ACD After Hours, will provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of the two most valuable blockchains in the world.

Bitcoin and Ethereum, together, underpin the vast majority of value created in the crypto industry. As I’ve stated before, the long-term success of the industry hinges on ensuring that the stewardship of these major open-source blockchain protocols remains sustainably transparent, open, decentralized, and credibly neutral.

So, if you are a stakeholder in this industry, as an investor, user, business, or developer, the evolution of Bitcoin and Ethereum matters to you.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the only site where you can find targeted coverage on the evolution of both of these technologies as decentralized public goods, and the only site where in-depth research on one regularly informs and supplements research about the other.

On a more personal note, this expansion of my content offering isn’t just about taking my expertise of open-source protocol development to the next level, it’s also about taking my role in the industry as a bridge between the developer and non-developer communities of Ethereum further to help support communication and cross over in and between the development communities of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

So, here we go. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Yours truly,

Christine D. Kim