I will try and respond constructively as I can to what I read as a slightly misinformed take (although the retort might well be that, that lies at my door also).
- David and I work closely together and have since the time I joined, he is the architect of the network, I am not - and I have never claimed, and would never want or be foolish to try and lead the technical developments of a product, that in one form or another, has been in flight for 18 years.
- ‘Pulling the marketing’ - we have been open with the challenges of beta, we do stages every other week, there are updates on progress and problems - and no one has tried to hide the fact that there were bugs and issues across the board when the network was scaled through the beta node reward program. The marketing was also for the beta node reward program - incentivised because we were learning from it. That said, at a point where 75-80% of folks are having a similar issues and/or not able to participate, not only are they getting a poor experience but the team isn’t learning anything new/getting any value from running a token incentive. This is why we didn’t put more efforts into marketing - going beyond (via referrals) friendlies would have risked damage without need, reason or benefit.
- The strategy around the launch is a 3 step (involving test > network > native for payments), you can disagree with it of course (and that is absolutely your prerogative), but it is being done to support the stability, performance and scale, that is required of the network for it to exist and live up to its promise(s).
- In order to get there - we can launch the main proposition to drive adoption and interest (beyond a group of individuals), to deliver the capacity that will be required with scale we will need a reward mechanism - being able to realise that reward (monetary value) will matter to a lot of holders and that is something we can do with this approach.
- The native token, as has been said several times will continue to be worked on.
- In regards to the ‘new team’, the guys working on the network at not new, yes we have added 3 developers and a few non-technical folk, but like me, they have joined a long established group, who have their arms and heads well around the development of the network - my job is to ensure that (as was stated when I joined), with the network almost ready, that reality and expectation are brought together as closely as possible. Vagueness and opacity around design/tech principles and concepts, are great when exploring and experimenting but they are hugely detrimental to planning and execution if they’re not realised or practical. It is my role to find those gaps and try and bridge them.
- Regarding payments specifically - as it became clear to me, that the native token was further out than anticipated (with all requirements factored in), it mean’t that decisions around strategy had to be made, and they were. Having taken all the inputs I have and having the network’s architect and founders full support and agreement, I am confident we’ve landed on an approach, that will not only see the network launch, but also put it in a great position to scale and mature into its final form as well.
- You can of course disagree with me and I respect that, but do please note, that in fairness, it is also my choice to disagree with you and to also reject some of the statements you have made incorrectly as fact.