> > One of the things going for us here is that Bitmain has been keeping ASICBOOST
> > from their own customers - as far as we know they haven't been sharing it, and
> > thus they're the only ones you can actually use it.
> >
> > So while we're pissing off Bitmain in disabling it, we wouldn't be affecting
> > anyone else.
> >
> > Equally, mining is a zero-sum game: if no-one can use ASICBOOST, miners are in
> > the same position as before. ASICBOOST is only relevant to miners like Bitmain
> > who have access to it while other miners don't.

Peter -
Do we know that for a fact, though? What evidence or intelligence do we have to indicate Bitmain itself is the only entity using the covert boost?

A few possibilities:
1. They could have already shared it with a limited number of strategic partners;
2. They could have offered to share it with various parties in exchange for something (money, support for BU, etc); or
3. They could provide the custom firmware/software to select parties as a direct response to this disclosure -- which would enhance their defenses against a soft fork.