Forks, or the threat of them, seem to be an established feature of the cryptocurrency landscape. But what are they? Why are they such a big deal? And what is the difference between a hard fork and a soft fork?
A “fork,” in programming terms, is an open-source code modification. Usually the forked code is similar to the original, but with important modifications, and the two “prongs” comfortably co-exist. Sometimes a fork is used to test a process, but with cryptocurrencies, it is more often used to implement a fundamental change, or to create a new asset with similar (but not equal) characteristics as the original.
Not all forks are intentional. With a widely distributed open-source codebase, a fork can happen accidentally when not all nodes are replicating the same information. Usually these forks are identified and resolved, however, and the majority of cryptocurrency forks are due to disagreements over embedded characteristics.
One thing to bear in mind with forks is that they have a “shared history.” The record of transactions on each of the chains (old and new) is identical prior to the split.
Hard forks
There are two main types of programming fork: hard and soft.
A hard fork is a change to a protocol that renders older versions invalid. If older versions continue running, they will end up with a different protocol and with different data than the newer version. This can lead to significant confusion and possible error.
With bitcoin, a hard fork would be necessary to change defining parameters such as the block size, the difficulty of the cryptographic puzzle that needs to be solved, limits to additional information that can be added, etc. A change to any of these rules would cause blocks to be accepted by the new protocol but rejected by older versions and could lead to serious problems – possibly even a loss of funds.
For instance, if the block size limit were to be increased from 1MB to 4MB, a 2MB block would be accepted by nodes running the new version, but rejected by nodes running the older version.
Let’s say that this 2MB block is validated by an updated node and added on to the blockchain. What if the next block is validated by a node running an older version of the protocol? It will try to add its block to the blockchain, but it will detect that the latest block is not valid. So, it will ignore that block and attach its new validation to the previous one. Suddenly you have two blockchains, one with both older and newer version blocks, and another with only older version blocks. Which chain grows faster will depend on which nodes get the next blocks validated, and there could end up being additional splits. It is feasible that the two (or more) chains could grow in parallel indefinitely.
This is a hard fork, and it’s potentially messy. It’s also risky, as it’s possible that bitcoins spent in a new block could then be spent again on an old block (since merchants, wallets and users running the previous code would not detect the spending on the new code, which they deem invalid).
The only solution is for one branch to be abandoned in favor of the other, which involves some miners losing out (the transactions themselves would not be lost, they’d just be re-allocated). Or, all nodes would need to switch to the newer version at the same time, which is difficult to achieve in a decentralized, widely spread system.
Or, bitcoin splits, which has happened (hello, bitcoin cash).
Soft fork
A soft fork can still work with older versions.
If, for example, a protocol is changed in a way that tightens the rules, that implements a cosmetic change or that adds a function that does not affect the structure in any way, then new version blocks will be accepted by old version nodes. Not the other way around, though: the newer, “tighter” version would reject old version blocks.
In bitcoin, ideally old-version miners would realize that their blocks were rejected, and would upgrade. As more miners upgrade, the chain with predominantly new blocks becomes the longest, which would further orphan old version blocks, which would lead to more miners upgrading, and the system self-corrects. Since new version blocks are accepted by both old and upgraded nodes, the new version blocks eventually win.
For instance, say the community decided to reduce the block size to 0.5MB from the current limit of 1MB. New version nodes would reject 1MB blocks, and would build on the previous block (if it was mined with an updated version of the code), which would cause a temporary fork.
This is a soft fork, and it’s already happened several times. Initially, Bitcoin didn’t have a block size limit. Introducing the limit of 1MB was done through a soft fork, since the new rule was “stricter” than the old one. The pay-to-script-hash function, which enhances the code without changing the structure, was also successfully added through a soft fork. This type of amendment generally requires only the majority of miners to upgrade, which makes it more feasible and less disruptive.
Soft forks do not carry the double-spend risk that plagues hard forks, since merchants and users running old nodes will read both new and old version blocks.
For examples of changes that would require a soft fork, see the “softfork wishlist”.
api bitcoin Passing transaction details through a one-way hash function i.e., SHA-256.bitcoin compromised блоки bitcoin курсы bitcoin bitcoin форки bitcoin список ethereum stats bitcoin nedir перспектива bitcoin bitcoin биткоин bitcoin script home bitcoin bitcoin fan bitcoin golden bitcoin заработок
panda bitcoin
китай bitcoin wirex bitcoin bitcoin avto best bitcoin
bitcoin mine 1080 ethereum bitcoin покупка
bitcoin logo теханализ bitcoin
инструмент bitcoin dwarfpool monero bitcoin adress polkadot блог протокол bitcoin playstation bitcoin
bitcoin адрес bitcoin fpga system bitcoin
forecast bitcoin bitcoin презентация
moneypolo bitcoin High-Profile Losses Raise FearBut how does Bitcoin work, you ask? How does it replace the functions for which we’ve so long relied on (and been beholden to) governments, banks, and payment companies?ethereum кран prune bitcoin casper ethereum надежность bitcoin
ethereum php bitcoin trust
pull bitcoin часы bitcoin bitcoin stellar iso bitcoin bitcoin electrum bitcoin eobot
bitcoin mail bitcoin вектор
fire bitcoin bitcoin usb bitcoin торги bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin unlimited
short bitcoin When you create a Bitcoin wallet (to store your Bitcoin), you receive a public key and a private key. Public keys and private keys are a set of long numbers and letters; they are like your username and password. Both are very important for truly understanding how does Bitcoin work.bitcoin терминал лото bitcoin обменять ethereum dat bitcoin CRYPTObitcoin darkcoin bitcoin yen tether перевод ethereum стоимость bitcoin hacker iso bitcoin bitcoin настройка bitcoin рублях bitcoin фильм bitcoin выиграть mikrotik bitcoin status bitcoin bitcoin расчет trust bitcoin bitcoin markets bitcoin switzerland bitcoin virus рост bitcoin people bitcoin bitcoin nyse btc bitcoin keys bitcoin usa bitcoin ethereum прибыльность people bitcoin chvrches tether bitcoin qiwi flash bitcoin капитализация ethereum bitcoin ether bitcoin usb настройка monero bitcoin payza ethereum биржа bitcoin calculator bitcoin update start bitcoin bitcoin компания pixel bitcoin bitcoin rpg mikrotik bitcoin hardware bitcoin форк bitcoin смесители bitcoin
bitcoin win сеть ethereum antminer bitcoin
sgminer monero платформ ethereum ethereum ротаторы
bitcoin super bitcoin шахты
bitcoin tx дешевеет bitcoin bitcoin динамика ethereum info bitcoin лохотрон tether 4pda ethereum купить bitcoin обменять
кости bitcoin ютуб bitcoin dark bitcoin lootool bitcoin money bitcoin yota tether nxt cryptocurrency monero купить программа bitcoin bitcoin loan
ethereum stratum bitcoin linux ethereum видеокарты логотип bitcoin ethereum crane bitcoin vector moneybox bitcoin code bitcoin blitz bitcoin cryptocurrency chart сбербанк bitcoin ethereum валюта cryptocurrency price dog bitcoin In any case, core developers incur very few monetary costs. Because they are simply donating time, they need only worry about the opportunity cost of the contributions. In short, developers who simply contribute code may be less committed than miners at the outset, but as time goes on, may become increasingly enfranchised in the group dynamic and the technology itself. It’s not necessary for core developers to be friendly with miners, but they do need to remain cognizant of miners’ economics. If the network is not profitable to mine, or the software quality is poor, the network will not attract investment from miners. Without miners’ computational power, a network is weak and easy to attack.siiz bitcoin
bitcoin is bitcoin payeer cryptocurrency calendar qr bitcoin monero miner блокчейна ethereum monero xeon bitcoin пицца maps bitcoin bitcoin алгоритмы blockchain bitcoin bitcoin заработок сложность bitcoin
пулы bitcoin кран bitcoin
monero free bitcoin бесплатно blockstream bitcoin bitcoin форк bitcoin sportsbook abi ethereum блог bitcoin cnbc bitcoin книга bitcoin добыча bitcoin ethereum pools форк ethereum bitcoin plus ethereum calc bitcointalk ethereum converter bitcoin locals bitcoin flypool ethereum foto bitcoin кошельки ethereum day bitcoin bitcoin cranes bitcoin автосерфинг dollar bitcoin ферма bitcoin bitcoin de cryptocurrency nem ферма bitcoin bitcoin видеокарта bitcoin wallpaper monero hardfork обменник ethereum monero dwarfpool fenix bitcoin bitcoin торговля bitcoin center транзакции monero bitcoin daemon bitcoin darkcoin bitcoin fun bitcoin rotator Phase 1 - Proof of Work (current): reliance on the Ethash function: a function (relying on Keccak) that was designated to prevent ASIC participation owing to memory hardness. However, since then, blocks have become mostly mined by ASIC devices.Bitcoin will grow like a benevolent hydra, with heads sprouting up in every country and community. It will gobble up commerce that has, until now, been shackled to the economic witchcraft of a decrepit fiat financial system, and will leave an expansive, frictionless marketplace in its wake. It is up to all of you, to capture and grow that new marketplace.bitcoin мастернода secp256k1 bitcoin сбербанк ethereum rush bitcoin ethereum casino bitcoin бизнес команды bitcoin service bitcoin займ bitcoin bitcoin вложения скачать bitcoin converter bitcoin top cryptocurrency ethereum биткоин platinum bitcoin
change bitcoin bitcoin rub
bitcoin services bitcoin capitalization обменники ethereum bitcoin alpari split bitcoin blitz bitcoin продам bitcoin хайпы bitcoin bitcoin bit
bitcoin mercado bitcoin msigna monero кошелек блог bitcoin bitcoin сети bitcoin деньги bitcoin data tether 4pda monero coin магазин bitcoin charts bitcoin bitcoin ruble футболка bitcoin криптовалюта monero transaction bitcoin ethereum контракты bitcoin update blogspot bitcoin кошельки bitcoin bitcoin стратегия пополнить bitcoin bitcoin 100 bitcoin cards bitcoin today
carding bitcoin дешевеет bitcoin bitcoin стоимость bitcoin работа автомат bitcoin
bitcoin сборщик
кости bitcoin ethereum habrahabr
bitcoin widget ethereum сайт bitcoin btc ethereum 4pda tinkoff bitcoin
ethereum russia bitcoin talk bitcoin buy tcc bitcoin bitcoin mac цены bitcoin bitcoin vpn ethereum casino ethereum ann bootstrap tether cryptocurrency top bitcoin зарегистрировать
bitcoin hardfork bitcoin check
fox bitcoin maps bitcoin bistler bitcoin биржа bitcoin запросы bitcoin plus bitcoin bitcoin metatrader bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin проект rx560 monero in bitcoin
обменники ethereum bitcoin reindex bitcoin деньги bitcoin symbol bitcoin акции пожертвование bitcoin 3. Bitcoin’s additional featuresbitcoin карты bitcoin png love bitcoin swarm ethereum bitcoin бесплатные фото bitcoin пополнить bitcoin
bitcoin завести
форекс bitcoin
bitcoin переводчик bitcoin base bitcoin lurk byzantium ethereum bitcoin конвектор convert bitcoin bitcoin red рубли bitcoin
bitcoin stock
claymore monero bitcoin easy What’s the common thread? Is there any particular fatal flaw of Bitcoin that explains why no one but Satoshi came up with it?bitcoin converter A currency must-have utility in order to be effective. Individuals must be able to reliably trade units of the currency for goods and services. This is a primary reason why currencies developed in the first place: so that participants in a market could avoid having to barter directly for goods. Utility also requires that currencies be easily moved from one location to another. Burdensome precious metals and commodities don't easily meet this stipulation.Bitcoins are traded from one personal wallet to another. A wallet is a small personal database that is stored on a computer drive, smartphone, tablet, or in the cloud.hack bitcoin A useful guide to open allocation governance in a real, successful project can be found in the Stanford Business School case study entitled 'Mozilla: Scaling Through a Community of Volunteers.' (One of the authors of the study, Professor Robert Sutton, is a regular critic of the abuses of hierarchical management, not only for its deleterious effects on workers, but also for its effects on managers themselves.)rx470 monero debian bitcoin портал bitcoin ethereum платформа bitcoin habr logo bitcoin bitcoin grafik ethereum обменять
компания bitcoin bitcoin торговля cryptocurrency wallet bitcoin apple рулетка bitcoin locate bitcoin Difficulty factorbitcoin платформа
bitcoin cnbc bitcoin ютуб bitcoin skrill bitcoin telegram bitcoin aliexpress
bitcoin миллионеры bitcoin экспресс microsoft bitcoin bitcoin okpay xronos cryptocurrency moto bitcoin bitcoin pdf bitcoin сигналы ethereum отзывы курс bitcoin bitcoin btc bitcoin игры clockworkmod tether agario bitcoin dance bitcoin фри bitcoin bitcoin london bonus ethereum терминал bitcoin multiply bitcoin sgminer monero bye bitcoin
bitcoin fund bitcoin asic tether верификация bitcoin javascript bitcoin all
bitcoin asics wikileaks bitcoin купить bitcoin bitcoin оборот bitcoin icons ethereum видеокарты
bitcoin python 1 monero стратегия bitcoin bitcoin uk
динамика ethereum ethereum обменять карты bitcoin bitcoin регистрации ethereum faucet
bitcoin сервера bitcoin ферма bitcoin карта double bitcoin bitcoin 4 ethereum кошелька
bitcoin script mist ethereum я bitcoin котировки bitcoin
bitcoin purse bitcoin сложность ethereum ферма ethereum проблемы bitcoin торрент Of course, obstacles are awaiting the Blockchain developer. For instance, the developer has to work with legacy infrastructure and its limitations, while still meeting the expectations inherent in a Blockchain development project. Also, there are the challenges of understanding the technical practicality of implementing decentralized cryptosystems, processes that fall outside of the traditional IT development skill-set, which means a Blockchain developer needs specialized skills.bitcoin отзывы дешевеет bitcoin япония bitcoin обменник ethereum
bitcoin double To compensate for increasing hardware speed and varying interest in running nodes over time, the difficulty of finding a valid hash is adjusted roughly every two weeks. If blocks are generated too quickly, the difficulty increases and more hashes are required to make a block and to generate new bitcoins.bitcoin prices bitcoin datadir There are two basic ways to mine: On your own or as part of a Bitcoin mining pool or with Bitcoin cloud mining contracts and be sure to avoid Bitcoin cloud mining scams. Almost all miners choose to mine in a pool because it smooths out the luck inherent in the Bitcoin mining process. Before you join a pool, make sure you have a bitcoin wallet so you have a place to store your bitcoins. Next you will need to join a mining pool and set your miner(s) to connect to that pool. With pool mining, the profit from each block any pool member generates is divided up among the members of the pool according to the amount of hashes they contributed.Availabilitybitcoin blocks bitcoin android wallets cryptocurrency bitcoin icons s bitcoin ethereum stratum bitcoin выиграть eos cryptocurrency
bitcoin автосерфинг
nodes bitcoin dash cryptocurrency
1000 bitcoin bitcoin купить flash bitcoin bit bitcoin fields bitcoin bitcoin обменять ethereum price bitcoin баланс bitcoin кошелек bitcoin акции bitcoin комиссия прогноз ethereum bitcoin usb zebra bitcoin fpga ethereum my ethereum ethereum clix алгоритмы ethereum купить tether bitcoin darkcoin bitcoin андроид bitcoin friday wikileaks bitcoin bitcoin wsj buy tether bitcoin loto алгоритм ethereum gas ethereum bitcoin galaxy сервера bitcoin car bitcoin падение ethereum cryptocurrency capitalization lite bitcoin nanopool ethereum bitcoin доходность stealer bitcoin bitcoin софт to bitcoin ethereum bonus bitcoin accelerator p2pool ethereum tether верификация мониторинг bitcoin bitcoin daily bitcoin зарегистрироваться ethereum инвестинг bitcoin кошелек tether приложение bitcoin bbc
tokens ethereum кран monero bitcointalk monero 22 bitcoin
bitcoin passphrase 8 bitcoin sell ethereum But as we explore blockchain’s potential, we see even broader horizons.In a distributed ledger, data modification or change cannot be done but for a traditional ledger, it is possible.super bitcoin bubble bitcoin capitalization cryptocurrency multi bitcoin будущее ethereum
bitcoin автоматический bitcoin p2p bitcoin department сбор bitcoin foto bitcoin tor bitcoin vpn bitcoin boom bitcoin iota cryptocurrency 16 bitcoin ethereum course bitcoin generation
знак bitcoin bitcoin программирование course bitcoin 