Source: Simon Dixon | Date: March 01, 2026

Investment Research Summary: "Was Bitcoin Hijacked?" by Simon Dixon

Investment Thesis

Bitcoin's decentralized governance structure successfully resisted multiple sophisticated capture attempts by powerful entities (including Epstein, Thiel, Hoffman), but ongoing battles over protocol direction and institutional custody centralization represent persistent threats to its original peer-to-peer vision.

Sentiment

NEUTRAL (on Bitcoin)

Time Horizon

LONG-TERM

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin's three-pillar governance (developers, miners, nodes) has successfully prevented complete takeover despite coordinated infiltration attempts since 2011
The "Block Size War" was the first major fracture, creating Bitcoin Cash; a new "Spam War" (ordinals/data filtering) is currently brewing between developer factions
Wall Street ETFs and institutional custody are centralizing Bitcoin ownership, converting a permissionless asset into one requiring third-party permission
Corporate stablecoins and CBDCs represent a "gateway drug" strategy—using Bitcoin's tech to normalize digital assets before pivoting users to controllable alternatives
No single hijack succeeded, but each faction that "won" internal battles steered the protocol in their direction, creating permanent ideological splits

Market Views

No specific price targets discussed
Key structural concern: ETF adoption and institutional custody are fundamentally changing Bitcoin's ownership model from self-custody to IOU-based claims
Geopolitical factor: Powerful financial/political figures (Epstein, Thiel, Hoffman) allegedly attempted to fund/influence core developers as early as 2011-2014 to steer protocol development

Assets Discussed

Bitcoin (BTC) - Neutral/Vigilant (resilient but under constant pressure)
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) - Context: product of the Block Size War split (digital cash vision)
Stablecoins (generic) - Bearish framing (centralized alternatives undermining Bitcoin's purpose)
CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) - Bearish (ultimate controllable endpoint of co-option strategy)
Ordinals/Bitcoin NFTs - Contested (currently causing "Spam War" between Bitcoin Core and Knots developer factions)

Risk Factors

Custody centralization risk: Mass adoption via ETFs means most Bitcoin is held by institutions, not individuals—recreating the trusted third-party model Bitcoin was designed to eliminate
Ongoing governance attacks: Four-part infiltration playbook (compromise developers, divide community, co-opt technology, centralize ownership) remains active and will "probably continue forever"
Ideological fragmentation: Each protocol battle creates permanent community splits, potentially weakening network effects and reducing Bitcoin's ability to resist future capture attempts

Notable Quotes

"In these big battles for control, the side that loses always cries out that the project was hijacked. But in a way, the winners also kind of hijack a piece of it, right? They get to steer the protocol in their preferred direction." — Simon Dixon
"Bitcoin was not hijacked... But the attempts to hijack it have never stopped, and they'll probably continue forever. The battle for Bitcoin's soul is very much ongoing." — Simon Dixon (final verdict)

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