Obelisk's intention was not nefarious as you phrase it to "crush" GPU miners but add value to their network. They were the first to make this intention public and SC was not on Bitmain's radar at the time. Rise in market value changed that of course but I want to hit on one important thing.
Of course, OBELISK buyers will be happy again, A3 buyers would be angry because they risked and lost
This is false in the event of a delayed SF. They would have made ROI and then some by the time this would likely be implemented that is unless Bitmain starts misbehaving ,in which case, all bets are off. The problem is they are not merely content with supporting a company terrible for the Sia ecosystem and making ROI either profit. No, they want more.
Obelisk buyers supported the devs way back when and, yes, being a startup was like the David to the Bitmain Goliath. I think a SF is the slingshot. Obviously, not talking about taking BM down entirely but certainly doen a notch which they honestly deserve for all the people they have stepped on with only regard to pure cold profit.
I'm going to share a comment that I believe was well written that further conveys my sentiment.
Essentially, I think my changes are pretty obvious, but it comes down to these main points.
- ASICs were always part of Sia's future, from the beginning.
- Bitmain's current production levels, if maintained, will ensure they maintain their monopoly of not only the ASIC market but ASICs for Sia. Obelisk is not equipped to make-up for a 100,000+ unit shortfall.
- Obelisk going under, means Sia loses the ability to maintain 20% of the hash-rate and help contribute to the network's health and stability.
- Obelisk going under, means millions of income that was going to go in part towards helping kick-start the expansion the dev team, add in marketing, etc. This means that Enterprise level adoption of Sia - the thing that really matters to Sia's future success - is far longer down the road.
I'm honestly just annoyed/disappointed I've had to do this, but I'm tired of this sub getting flooded by newbies to the community that clearly don't see anything beyond the short term on how it affects the Sia project.