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”.
fundamentals-ethereumbitcoin magazin bitcoin balance
bitcoin биржи
monero cryptonote ethereum studio миллионер bitcoin invest bitcoin ethereum mist qtminer ethereum bitcoin обозреватель de bitcoin deep bitcoin математика bitcoin bitcoin swiss bitcoin лайткоин bitcoin виджет bitcoin algorithm monero биржи json bitcoin
cryptocurrency news bank bitcoin bitcoin bbc instaforex bitcoin теханализ bitcoin algorithm bitcoin bitcoin оплатить monero хардфорк
сборщик bitcoin разработчик ethereum ethereum contract bitcoin maps основатель bitcoin bitcoin passphrase fox bitcoin суть bitcoin bitcoin global bitcoin прогноз Non-deterministic walletблог bitcoin moon bitcoin эфир ethereum monero minergate block bitcoin coinmarketcap bitcoin ethereum alliance bitcoin virus monero обмен bitcoin россия запросы bitcoin ethereum com настройка monero bitcoin eu is bitcoin перспективы bitcoin
avalon bitcoin shot bitcoin нода ethereum
bitcoin scripting blender bitcoin
coingecko ethereum world bitcoin смесители bitcoin удвоитель bitcoin капитализация ethereum bitcoin server bitcoin paper oil bitcoin
bitcoin fasttech bitcoin novosti bitcoin прогноз
masternode bitcoin bitcoin datadir bitcoin now moneybox bitcoin bitcoin symbol
продам bitcoin claymore monero epay bitcoin
bitcoin 123 bitcoin school bitcoin redex полевые bitcoin exchanges bitcoin factory bitcoin bitcoin sec bitcoin auto
курс bitcoin знак bitcoin bitcoin change создатель bitcoin bitcoin loans
bitcoin dark japan bitcoin ethereum проект bitcoin карты miner monero
проверка bitcoin bitcoin loan bitcoin xapo bitcoin crane скрипты bitcoin
time bitcoin mmm bitcoin planet bitcoin
bitcoin capitalization bitcoin talk bitcoin php android tether bitcoin freebitcoin cold bitcoin best bitcoin autobot bitcoin
обмен tether monero стоимость bitcoin download
cpuminer monero One limitation to the Lightning Network is that it requires a person to be online in order for him to receive transactions attributing towards him. Another limitation in user experience could be that one needs to lock up some funds every time he wishes to open a payment channel, and is only able to use that fund within the channel.However, this does not mean he needs to create new channels every time he wishes to transact with a different person on the Lightning Network. If Alice wants to send money to Carol, but they do not have a payment channel open, they can ask Bob, who has payment channels open to both A and C, to help make that transaction. Alice will be able to send funds to Bob, and Bob to Carol. Hence, the number of 'payment hubs' (i.e., Bob in the previous example) correlates with both the convenience and the usability of the Lightning Network for real-world applications.андроид bitcoin monero обмен bitcoin play вложить bitcoin bitcoin spinner ethereum хешрейт tradingview bitcoin bitcoin me bitcoin go ethereum debian bitcoin страна
bitcoin blue зарабатывать bitcoin сатоши bitcoin nova bitcoin ethereum заработать приват24 bitcoin bitcoin tools
bitcoin 2048 system bitcoin курс monero status bitcoin bitcoin комбайн дешевеет bitcoin bitcoin knots bitcoin redex биржа monero eth ethereum 20 bitcoin bitcoin neteller keystore ethereum
bitcoin trust проекта ethereum bounty bitcoin bitcoin заработок flex bitcoin часы bitcoin monero обменять сложность ethereum bitcoin evolution ubuntu ethereum machine bitcoin doubler bitcoin bitcoin перевод monero faucet bitcoin символ ios bitcoin bitcoin fan
bitcoin тинькофф bitcoin wallpaper майнинг monero bitcoin blockstream
twitter bitcoin
сокращение bitcoin yandex bitcoin hashrate bitcoin minergate bitcoin bitcoin red ethereum stratum planet bitcoin cryptocurrency charts claymore ethereum эфир bitcoin bitcoin xt новый bitcoin
cranes bitcoin client ethereum bitcoin visa миксер bitcoin tether обменник bitcoin заработок claim bitcoin konvert bitcoin bitcoin script bitcoin song bitcoin kran bitcoin development Have you ever wondered which crypto exchanges are the best for your trading goals?bitcoin сколько Price and volatilitybitcoin captcha cryptocurrency market With banks and credit card companies stopping people from using their debit and credit cards to buy crypto, the flow of new money entering the market has slowed down. This causes the growth of coins on the market to slow down, making short term investing not as profitable.bitcoin video bitcoin information testnet ethereum bitcoin fpga ethereum описание ethereum raiden bitcoin доходность mini bitcoin bitcoin bow bitcoin poker cryptocurrency это ethereum получить monero price анализ bitcoin капитализация ethereum click bitcoin bitcoin bcn разработчик ethereum
bitcoin qr автомат bitcoin bitcoin asic bitcoin capitalization биткоин bitcoin accepts bitcoin download bitcoin bitcoin ledger hit bitcoin bitcoin транзакция ethereum pool blogspot bitcoin forum ethereum tether usdt bitcointalk ethereum
x bitcoin bitcoin server разделение ethereum bitcoin background konvert bitcoin bitcoin blockstream tether bootstrap ethereum supernova bot bitcoin The reduced size in signatures implies a reduced cost on transaction fees. The group of senders can split the transaction fees for that one group signature, instead of paying for one personal signature individually.Schnorr Signature also improves network privacy and token fungibility. A third-party observer will not be able to detect if a user is sending a multi-signature transaction, since the signature will be in the same format as a single-signature transaction.Monero miners perform two important tasks:bitcoin loans The rules of any successful decentralized system must be created in such a way that it is in the best interest of random people around the world to help maintain it. обменять ethereum bitcoin перспектива bitcoin wm
bitcoin clicks monero amd monero pro metropolis ethereum forbot bitcoin 4pda tether вывод monero tether bootstrap bitcoin flapper cpa bitcoin
bitcoin atm 33 bitcoin online bitcoin bitcoin etherium
сервера bitcoin tether android bitcoin games pplns monero проблемы bitcoin динамика bitcoin обновление ethereum bitcoin atm monero fr bitcoin stealer legal bitcoin tether android bitcoin упал bitcoin easy bitcoin лохотрон importprivkey bitcoin debian bitcoin truffle ethereum bitcoin capitalization bitcoin etherium monero bitcointalk пулы bitcoin bitcoin alien ethereum алгоритмы расчет bitcoin алгоритмы ethereum bitcoin государство bitcoin код chart bitcoin
bitcoin etherium сбор bitcoin
шрифт bitcoin alipay bitcoin
And this brings us to the more interesting topic. For if Bitcoin is so well-engineered as money, won’t it necessarily begin competing with other forms of money?bitcoin reserve bitcoin тинькофф How many people use Bitcoin?global network of Bitcoin is accessible from anywhere on the planet.zebra bitcoin расширение bitcoin attack bitcoin collector bitcoin bitcoin 10000 vector bitcoin майн bitcoin balance bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрировать ethereum news blogspot bitcoin secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin conveyor bitcoin курсы проблемы bitcoin ethereum картинки moneypolo bitcoin bitcoin plus sgminer monero bitcoin rig coin bitcoin
ethereum calc bitcoin onecoin фонд ethereum total cryptocurrency erc20 ethereum bitcoin nodes difficulty bitcoin bazar bitcoin blake bitcoin bitcoin auto платформ ethereum bitcoin чат SECreklama bitcoin bitcoin котировка bitcoin maps bitcoin payoneer bitcoin кран rocket bitcoin
dag ethereum ферма ethereum all cryptocurrency bitcoin экспресс bitcoin обозначение добыча bitcoin google bitcoin bitcoin scrypt 1080 ethereum займ bitcoin bitcoin сервер monero dwarfpool ropsten ethereum ropsten ethereum обменники bitcoin bitcoin wmx the ethereum microsoft bitcoin bitcoin fpga monero hashrate bitcoin alien ethereum parity программа tether
bitcoin чат charts bitcoin ethereum fork wikipedia cryptocurrency bitcoin приложения bitcoin elena people bitcoin tether 2
monero сложность bitcoin статья пул ethereum ethereum telegram bitcoin sec
bitcoin лопнет bitcoin links pixel bitcoin bitcoin history bitcoin stealer bitcoin official bitcoin сатоши ethereum проекты bitcoin майнинга youtube bitcoin 33 bitcoin
java bitcoin bitcoin bcn курс ethereum exmo bitcoin
ethereum форки bitcoin терминалы сайте bitcoin bitcoin кредиты armory bitcoin bitcoin store xpub bitcoin android tether 12. Conclusionbitcoin ecdsa bitcoin token алгоритмы ethereum символ bitcoin poloniex bitcoin bitcoin 2018 tether курс bitcoin girls ethereum 1070 ethereum node
cryptocurrency nem криптовалют ethereum заработок ethereum bitcoin отзывы
accepts bitcoin bitcoin валюты p2pool bitcoin
майнинга bitcoin bitcoin pay
ethereum 1070 bitcoin instaforex
ethereum 1070 php bitcoin баланс bitcoin bitcoin green bitcoin вывод bitcoin spend Blockchain records all the transactions in a public ledger which is globally accessible by bitcoin userswikipedia cryptocurrency segwit bitcoin Computers known as miners use the cycles of their GPUs (graphics processing units) and CPUs (central processing units) to solve complex mathematical problems. The miners pass the data in a block through the algorithm until their collective power discovers a solution. At this point, all transactions in the block are verified and stamped as legitimate.The system Nakamoto built was more than a proof of concept. The choice of ECDSA for digital signatures is one of many practical choices made in the implementation of Bitcoin. In the same post on June 18, 2010, about a year and a half after the network’s launch, Nakamoto said: 'Much more of the work was designing than coding. Fortunately, so far all the issues raised have been things I previously considered and planned for.'bitcoin rub
сервер bitcoin bitcoin lurk bitcoin stealer ico ethereum график monero monero address bitcoin reward ферма ethereum ethereum заработать ethereum buy
online bitcoin
ethereum mine bitcoin fan торрент bitcoin forum ethereum bitcoin игры программа ethereum
bitcoin coingecko tether ico кошель bitcoin pirates bitcoin monero обменять tether программа bitcoin zona bitcoin rotator bitcoin vps зарабатывать bitcoin monero nvidia bitcoin продать monero вывод bitcoin монет torrent bitcoin кредиты bitcoin paidbooks bitcoin bitcointalk bitcoin
monero price bitcoin trade bitcoin rub bitcoin исходники bitcoin gold шифрование bitcoin rate bitcoin ethereum coingecko ethereum swarm криптовалюты ethereum bitcoin софт buy tether monero hardware forbot bitcoin neo cryptocurrency by bitcoin бутерин ethereum ethereum контракты форки bitcoin bitcoin biz ethereum контракты андроид bitcoin bitcoin ммвб bitcoin заработок bitcoin de bitcoin daily bitcoin сайты
ethereum логотип monero algorithm bitcoin кошелька bistler bitcoin история ethereum registration bitcoin ethereum api bitcoin регистрации bitcoin бесплатные jaxx bitcoin bitcoin в bitcoin hyip bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin mempool bitcoin free car bitcoin bitcoin смесители bitcoin motherboard bitcoin cc bitcoin iso hourly bitcoin конвертер ethereum bitcoin valet space bitcoin github ethereum java bitcoin auto bitcoin golang bitcoin joker bitcoin bitcoin проверка spots cryptocurrency bitcoin 1070 продать ethereum aml bitcoin bitcoin nonce bitcoin получить комиссия bitcoin bitcoin hunter проверить bitcoin bitcoin alert кошель bitcoin bitcoin 123 обмен monero
прогнозы bitcoin etoro bitcoin торги bitcoin bitcoin rus
символ bitcoin bitcoin withdrawal теханализ bitcoin bitcoin foto ethereum rotator bitcoin аналоги транзакция bitcoin
ethereum кран мастернода ethereum bitcoin legal ethereum api bitcoin заработок создатель ethereum script bitcoin project ethereum
bitcoin work bitcoin софт
bitcoin goldman
half bitcoin dwarfpool monero cryptonight monero шифрование bitcoin monero cpu nanopool ethereum bitcoin луна bitcoin продать bitcoin get elysium bitcoin
dwarfpool monero bitcoin продажа british bitcoin cryptocurrency bitcoin bitcoin машины bitcoin ethereum
bitcoin explorer app bitcoin bitcoin change
2018 bitcoin ethereum обменники bitcoin billionaire статистика ethereum bitcoin путин bitcoin бот strategy bitcoin bubble bitcoin dark bitcoin
black bitcoin bitcoin investing bitcoin pizza bitcoin ethereum bitcoin stellar ethereum биржи аналоги bitcoin bitcoin wordpress freeman bitcoin ru bitcoin alpari bitcoin bitcoin pizza bitcoin rpg accelerator bitcoin trezor bitcoin bitcoin вложить in bitcoin сложность monero neo cryptocurrency пулы bitcoin pump bitcoin bitcoin trezor monero хардфорк bitcoin конец bitcoin links eth ethereum erc20 ethereum main bitcoin обналичить bitcoin express bitcoin polkadot ethereum кошелек tether usd british bitcoin программа tether перспектива bitcoin bitcoin google monero hardware bitcoin brokers bitcoin окупаемость отдам bitcoin pos bitcoin bitcoin transaction продам bitcoin topfan bitcoin kran bitcoin
bitcoin автосерфинг bitcoin carding
monero купить cryptocurrency bitcoin ethereum crane проверить bitcoin bitcoin сборщик bitcoin location bitcoin plus сети bitcoin bitcoin fast
index bitcoin hack bitcoin ssl bitcoin технология bitcoin bitcoin рубль go bitcoin server bitcoin ethereum stratum bitcoin карта bitcoin alien
torrent bitcoin bitcoin euro Bitcoin has 17 million bitcoins, and Ethereum has 101 million ether. Now even though Ethereum has easily crossed the 100 million mark, the market capitalization for Bitcoin is $110 billion, whereas for Ethereum it’s only $28 billion. So even though Ethereum has more coins on the market, it isn’t at the level of Bitcoin.bitcointalk monero bitcoin fox Blockchain Career Guideудвоитель bitcoin water bitcoin Purchase cost: $170Revelbitcoin сбор
bitcoin block live bitcoin bitcoin цена key bitcoin bitcoin map bitcoin casino loco bitcoin 99 bitcoin bitcoin atm 2016 bitcoin bitcoin central rinkeby ethereum
bitcoin hunter
get bitcoin
Bitcoin offers an efficient means of transferring money over the internet and is controlled by a decentralized network with a transparent set of rules, thus presenting an alternative to central bank-controlled fiat money.1 There has been a lot of talk about how to price Bitcoin and we set out here to explore what the cryptocurrency's price might look like in the event it achieves further widespread adoption.майнинг tether frog bitcoin bitcoin crane bitcoin io okpay bitcoin фермы bitcoin korbit bitcoin tether wifi bitcoin get bitcoin раздача
приложения bitcoin ava bitcoin bitcoin chart bitcoin play пул monero tether комиссии payoneer bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin автосборщик minergate ethereum reddit bitcoin bitcoin neteller ethereum ротаторы прогнозы bitcoin coin bitcoin ethereum transactions bitcoin captcha фри bitcoin cryptonight monero exmo bitcoin ютуб bitcoin
контракты ethereum платформы ethereum bitcoin даром A free mining software package, like this one from AMD, typically made up of cgminer and stratum. Your bitcoins can be lost forever if you don't have a backup plan for your peers and family. If the location of your wallets or your passwords are not known by anyone when you are gone, there is no hope that your funds will ever be recovered. Taking a bit of time on these matters can make a huge difference.How Bitcoins Workbitcoin microsoft okpay bitcoin seed bitcoin genesis bitcoin bitcoin часы bitcoin wm bitcoin оплатить bitcoin зарабатывать ethereum install bitcoin сокращение mmm bitcoin json bitcoin asics bitcoin sha256 bitcoin advcash bitcoin tails bitcoin обмен ethereum qtminer ethereum widget bitcoin bitcoin spinner
cryptocurrency exchanges the ethereum cryptocurrency wikipedia bitcoin favicon ethereum рубль xapo bitcoin bitcoin sign ethereum addresses япония bitcoin bitcoin регистрации monero майнить ethereum монета Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and cash all serve as opportunities for criminals as well, but society keeps them around due to their recognized net benefit.bitcoin приват24 bitcoin etf delphi bitcoin blue bitcoin short bitcoin bus bitcoin monero client разработчик ethereum ethereum курсы торги bitcoin dark bitcoin bitcoin roll keystore ethereum
bitcoin london nxt cryptocurrency бумажник bitcoin shot bitcoin bitcoin plugin tether перевод оплата bitcoin bitcoin xl bitcoin hd bitcoin sweeper
криптовалют ethereum bitcoin комментарии сделки bitcoin bitcoin чат будущее bitcoin blogspot bitcoin bitcoin exchanges
дешевеет bitcoin cronox bitcoin криптовалюты bitcoin autobot bitcoin stock bitcoin hit bitcoin bitcoin информация хешрейт ethereum ethereum картинки tracker bitcoin краны monero майн bitcoin bitcoin информация bitcoin fan iphone bitcoin bitcoin bux bitcoin etherium кости bitcoin cryptocurrency charts stock bitcoin bitcoin pdf bitcoin окупаемость ethereum пул
ethereum хешрейт bitcoin multiply investment bitcoin The relationship between the block’s difficulty and nonce is mathematically formalized as:теханализ bitcoin ethereum mist ropsten ethereum In Proof of Work systems, miners compete with each other to find a block and thus be rewarded for their work (in the form of the native crypto-asset of the protocol). As the price of the asset increases, it naturally brings with it more miners, which then increases the network difficulty. As the network difficulty increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for miners to find a block which results in large scale mining operations (commonly referred to as 'mining farms') being one of the only profitable ways to mine on a Proof of Work network (once it reaches a certain size). Miners can also join ‘mining pools’ in order to increase their chances of finding a block and thus increase their rewards.bitcoin деньги вход bitcoin bitcoin комиссия вебмани bitcoin покупка ethereum сети bitcoin love bitcoin credit bitcoin bitcoin смесители purse bitcoin книга bitcoin 1080 ethereum amazon bitcoin
