The BCH technical update is approaching, and the IFP controversy remains unresolved.

As the technical update date for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on May 15 approaches, the controversy within the community surrounding the Bitcoin ABC infrastructure funding plan (IFP) continues to ferment. Currently, the IFP-related code still exists in the Bitcoin ABC codebase, raising concerns and questions among many users.

In response to community concerns, the Bitcoin ABC team recently launched a BCH protocol development fundraising campaign, aiming to raise 14,500 BCH (worth approximately $3.3 million) to support subsequent development work. As of now, the fundraising campaign has completed 43% of its goal and will continue until April 30. This means there are only two weeks left before the update on May 15, and whether the IFP is implemented or not will largely depend on the results of this fundraising.

However, some users have expressed concerns about the fundraising campaign. They question whether the IFP will be implemented as a backup plan if the fundraising goal is not met by the end of the month. According to the business plan previously published by the Bitcoin ABC team, if the fundraising fails, it may incentivize miners to implement the IFP, including allocating a certain percentage of the block rewards to the development team.

In this regard, Jonald Fyookball, the chief developer of a lightweight wallet, expressed dissatisfaction. He believes that although the Bitcoin ABC team responded, the response was unsatisfactory. From the team's statement, he inferred that Bitcoin ABC might use IFP as a bargaining chip.

Reflecting on the controversy in February this year, Bitcoin ABC proposed to allocate 12.5% of the BCH block rewards to the development team to support ongoing development. This proposal sparked significant controversy within the community. Subsequently, the ABC team reduced this percentage to 5% and plans to implement it in the upcoming version 0.21.0.

As the update date approaches, the BCH community remains divided on its attitude towards the IFP and its potential impact. This debate not only involves technical aspects but also reflects the challenges that decentralized projects face in terms of ongoing development and funding support. Regardless of the final outcome, this will become a noteworthy case in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, potentially providing insights for the governance and funding models of other projects.