The BCH upgrade is approaching, and the fundraising by the development team has sparked controversy over the IFP.

The next technical upgrade for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) will take place on May 15, and there is only about a month left until that date. However, the code for the Bitcoin ABC Infrastructure Funding Proposal (IFP) is still present in the Bitcoin ABC software, raising concerns and questions among community members. Many users are asking on social media platforms why this code still exists and are demanding a clear explanation from the development team.

In response, the Bitcoin ABC team recently launched a BCH protocol development fundraising campaign. They aim to raise 14,500 BCH (approximately $3.3 million) to support ongoing development work. As of now, the fundraising goal has reached 43%. This donation campaign will last until April 30. At the end of the campaign, there will only be two weeks left until the BCH update date, and whether the IFP is ultimately implemented will largely depend on the results of this fundraising campaign.

However, this fundraising campaign has also raised concerns among some users. Some have questioned whether the development team would implement the IFP as a last resort if the fundraising target cannot be met by the end of the month. According to the business plan for the next year released by the Bitcoin ABC team, if the fundraising plan fails, miners may be encouraged to implement the IFP plan, which includes allocating a certain percentage of the BCH block reward to the development team.

Some community members expressed dissatisfaction with this statement. The chief developer of a light wallet believes that while this at least counts as a response, it is not satisfactory. He pointed out that from the development team's statements, it seems they regard the IFP as a bargaining chip.

Looking back at the news from February this year, Bitcoin ABC proposed implementing an infrastructure funding plan, suggesting that 12.5% of BCH block rewards be allocated to the development team to support ongoing development. This proposal sparked widespread controversy within the community. Subsequently, the ABC team reduced the suggested miner donation percentage to 5% and plans to implement this plan in the upcoming version 0.21.0 (expected on May 15).

This series of events highlights the challenges faced by the cryptocurrency community regarding governance and fund allocation issues, and reflects the disagreements among development teams, miners, and users on how best to support network development. As the update date approaches, the BCH community will closely monitor the developments and how these controversies are resolved.