On Jan. 3 a "pro-Bitcoin" news outlet called "Nakamoto" launched with the stated intention of letting industry thought leaders share positive content nearly cryptocurrencies.

Co-ordinate to the about department of the Nakamoto website, the platform was launched "to create a venue for quality technical, philosophical, and cultural writing that is of general involvement to the crypto community equally a whole, for beginners and experts alike."

The news site also mentions that "all Nakamoto contributors share one non-negotiable value: they must be pro-Bitcoin (BTC) for the long-term."

While this may exist the instance, many Nakamoto contributors are leading communities rivaling Bitcoin. For example, Michael Arrington, co-founder of Arrington XRP Capital letter, is a author on the platform. On January. 3 Arrington published his get-go piece on Nakamoto entitled, "It Will Have Years For Smart People To Understand Cryptocurrencies."

Bitcoin Cash proponent, Roger Ver, is another contributor to the site, along with Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin. The contributor list has created controversy in the crypto space, as the grouping makes it clear that all writers must exist pro-Bitcoin, nevertheless many of them are leading other initiatives.

The Nakamoto Telegram Channel Controversy

In addition to a contributor network that seems to get against the news sites' values, Nakamoto'south Telegram account, which was created for the crypto community to share their thoughts regarding the platform's content, has gone into "read-only mode."

According to a pinned message in the Nakamoto Telegram Channel, read-only mode occurred as a result of "trolls and spambots" and that Telegram'due south moderation tools are "just so-so and accept many false positives."

Source: Telegram

Ironically, Nakamoto's Telegram group, which currently has over ii,240 members, is chastened past Vitalik Buterin, Zooko Wilcox of the Electric Coin Visitor and Hudson Jameson, who is the community manager at the Ethereum Foundation. Each of these members supports non-Bitcoin related projects — which wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but has led to some suspicion that they will utilise that forum as a platform for not-BTC coins.

A Cointelegraph reporter introduced himself to the group on Jan. 5 simply by saying: "Hi I'm pro BTC". Seconds later, he got a bulletin saying the group is no longer accessible.

Source: Telegram

Is read-only mode a effect of trolls and spambots?

While the Nakamoto Telegram aqueduct claims in its pinned message that read-only mode is a reaction to trolls and spambots, the controversy surrounding the new site's' Telegram group has the crypto community speculating.

Nakamoto website contributor Michael Arrington told Cointelegraph on Twitter that read-only fashion is due to the group'due south fast growth. He explained:

"I believe @balajis said that it grew then fast that the trolls had taken upwards residence, so they put information technology on read merely until they notice a ameliorate solution."

@balajis is the Twitter handle for former Coinbase CTO, Balaji Srinivasan, who apparently is the owner of the Telegram group chat.

Arrington replied to Cointelegraph seconds afterwards that he really can't hash out the real reason why read simply mode is on the telegram channel:

Source: Twitter

In the meantime, the pinned bulletin in the Nakamoto Telegram channel notes for users to follow the group on twitter — the business relationship has most 8,000 followers.