Using negative values would only complicate things and the goal is to have a simple solution for not losing convenience of having a unix timestamp that fits in 32bits and is very straightforward.
In 99.9% cases there will be no need to keep track of the epoch just like the current computers don't look before 1970. In rare cases if its required the epoch can obviously be stored in another byte.
In 99.9% cases there will be no need to keep track of the epoch just like the current computers don't look before 1970. In rare cases if its required the epoch can obviously be stored in another byte.