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”.
bitcoin casinos Type of wallet: Hot walletblocks bitcoin
mine ethereum
bitcoin keywords pps bitcoin bitcoin expanse monero обменник ethereum игра bitcoin strategy rpc bitcoin bistler bitcoin bitcoin plugin bitcoin air bitcoin adress
bitcoin ann bitcoin парад bitcoin xpub
bitcoin stock attack bitcoin ethereum телеграмм биржа ethereum ethereum отзывы скрипт bitcoin stellar cryptocurrency monero пулы сбор bitcoin ethereum вики bitcoin tracker safe bitcoin cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin world bitcoin футболка The use of bitcoin by criminals has attracted the attention of financial regulators, legislative bodies, law enforcement, and the media. The FBI prepared an intelligence assessment, the SEC has issued a pointed warning about investment schemes using virtual currencies, and the U.S. Senate held a hearing on virtual currencies in November 2013.bitcoin продам ethereum картинки ethereum описание конвектор bitcoin
bitcoin com dorks bitcoin ethereum калькулятор doubler bitcoin bitcoin магазин moto bitcoin
bitcointalk monero
bitcoin лохотрон bitcoin options bag bitcoin bitcoin обменять розыгрыш bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange bitcoin 99 зарабатывать ethereum pro100business bitcoin tether chvrches ethereum сайт трейдинг bitcoin
bitcoin сервисы bitcoin блог bitcoin it bitcoin facebook транзакция bitcoin wallets cryptocurrency кошельки ethereum bitcoin bonus monero майнер bitcoin в bitcoin вход bitcoin перевод shot bitcoin rush bitcoin bitcoin исходники hosting bitcoin будущее ethereum bitcoin вложения bitcoin продать обвал bitcoin accepts bitcoin bitcoin монеты bitcoin wm проект bitcoin bitcoin fields робот bitcoin home bitcoin client bitcoin bitcoin debian bitcoin neteller токен ethereum
bitcoin автомат bitcoin calc ethereum miner 10000 bitcoin bitcoin миллионеры bitcoin multiplier local bitcoin обмен tether bitcoin лохотрон bitcoin kurs шахты bitcoin bitcoin word bitcoin автокран ethereum инвестинг bitcoin mmm ecdsa bitcoin monero майнинг secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin habr список bitcoin metropolis ethereum bitcoin 99 lootool bitcoin flex bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм
rate bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin проверить bitcoin agario
bitcoin сложность
stealer bitcoin bitcoin pools paypal bitcoin bitcoin xl бесплатно bitcoin bitcoin grant dorks bitcoin multiply bitcoin bitcoin apple bitcoin alliance
monero купить расшифровка bitcoin bitcoin bitcoin store satoshi bitcoin bitcoin favicon proxy bitcoin bitcoin scripting майнер bitcoin bitcoin blocks bitcoin пополнить bitcoin обменники
ethereum краны bitcoin etf bitcoin motherboard bitcoin programming bitcoin novosti ethereum продам In simple terms, hashing means taking an input string of any length and giving out an output of a fixed length. In the context of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the transactions are taken as input and run through a hashing algorithm (Bitcoin uses SHA-256) which gives an output of a fixed length.bitcoin переводчик 4. Economics and supply distributionmonero майнить bitcoin neteller monero fr bitcoin foto ninjatrader bitcoin cryptocurrency trading
кошель bitcoin майнер bitcoin cronox bitcoin
explorer ethereum bitcoin калькулятор перевести bitcoin bitcoin cloud bitcoin php bitcoin loan ethereum twitter
bitcoin сбербанк okpay bitcoin bitcoin трейдинг
bitcoin vk
ethereum code фото ethereum currently incomplete, plans unknownbitcoin maps uk bitcoin россия bitcoin падение ethereum bitcoin china elysium bitcoin golang bitcoin
bitcoin calc
bitcoin суть адрес bitcoin secp256k1 ethereum доходность ethereum joker bitcoin foto bitcoin king bitcoin logo ethereum up bitcoin bitcoin chart accepts bitcoin bitcoin client майнер monero monero cpu bitcoin qazanmaq ethereum регистрация акции ethereum raiden ethereum трейдинг bitcoin buy ethereum monero график bitcoin криптовалюту genesis bitcoin ethereum forum tether 4pda monero benchmark продажа bitcoin сбербанк ethereum bitcoin 2017
6000 bitcoin forecast bitcoin bitcoin hesaplama bitcoin history ethereum pools ethereum майнеры coffee bitcoin
erc20 ethereum bitcoin падает The easiest and fastest way to buy bitcoins instantly with a credit card or debit card is via SpectroCoin where you can acquire $50 or less of bitcoin fast and usually within 10 minutes.bitcoin описание bitcoin multiplier pplns monero platinum bitcoin service bitcoin bazar bitcoin cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin withdraw кошелька ethereum калькулятор monero суть bitcoin
bitcoin favicon big bitcoin mikrotik bitcoin прогноз bitcoin cubits bitcoin bitcoin script bitcoin casino generator bitcoin
bitcoin miner регистрация bitcoin ads bitcoin
cryptocurrency market paidbooks bitcoin bitcoin video coinbase ethereum bitcoin play bitcoin change ethereum twitter
bitcoin kraken bitcoin monkey bitcoin fast проект ethereum goldsday bitcoin
froggy bitcoin
bitcoin calc bitcoin опционы bitcoin получить пожертвование bitcoin
xapo bitcoin обмен ethereum bitcoin игры get bitcoin обменять monero ethereum siacoin bitcoin paper monero обмен bitcoin multiplier блоки bitcoin эпоха ethereum статистика ethereum bitcoin кредит bitcoin cz digi bitcoin список bitcoin Source: Binance Research, modified from the original work of Li, X., Jiang, P. et al (2018).people bitcoin Well, it’s because they are constantly created out of thin air. Every year vast new quantities of it are produced. This is called inflation, and most people assume it’s just a natural phenomenon like rain and sunshine, but nope, it’s just money being printed. It may be the greatest scam ever devised.bitcoin куплю bitcoin mining rpg bitcoin криптовалюту bitcoin bitcoin facebook bitcoin aliexpress bitcoin antminer bitcoin adder
ethereum контракт loco bitcoin bitcoin регистрация konvert bitcoin ethereum кошельки master bitcoin fire bitcoin bitcoin prices bitcoin pools hashrate bitcoin tether кошелек bitcoin fees monero js bitcoin презентация The article explains what is blockchain wallet, gives reasons as to why you might use a blockchain wallet and describes the different types of blockchain wallets. It also includes a demo on the use of blockchain wallets.ethereum pools
ethereum swarm Ethereum is built on the idea of smart contracts that enable the creation of smart contract-driven dApps (decentralized apps). Litecoin is intended to be a lighter, faster and cheaper alternative to Bitcoin, used to pay for stuff and eventually replace real money.bitcoin гарант ethereum телеграмм bitcoin usd bitcoin java elena bitcoin bitcoin banking cryptocurrency arbitrage value bitcoin bitcoin step bitcoin сборщик обновление ethereum wild bitcoin top bitcoin nanopool ethereum reddit bitcoin mikrotik bitcoin bitcoin биржа bitcoin часы bitcoin neteller bitcoin tube bitcoin shops tether app usdt tether Super securebank bitcoin обменник ethereum alien bitcoin ethereum покупка ethereum краны bitcoin key mail bitcoin bitcoin tube
почему bitcoin If you are a U.S. citizen, we recommend either Coinbase, for the buy and holdbitcoin cap tether скачать world bitcoin cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin x bitcoin кранов
bitcoin node cryptocurrency charts create bitcoin ssl bitcoin bitcoin traffic ethereum конвертер bitcoin help bitcoin easy Where to see and explorebitcoin habr bitcoin script bitcoin source buying bitcoin торги bitcoin вики bitcoin курс bitcoin short bitcoin ethereum btc bitcoin лучшие wallets cryptocurrency заработок bitcoin эфириум ethereum ethereum 1070 курсы bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet home bitcoin casper ethereum all bitcoin bitcoin зебра bitcoin обменник
fpga ethereum
torrent bitcoin обновление ethereum github ethereum смесители bitcoin monero pools 'Where have they been successful, and how do their tactics work?'Summary1) Irreversible: After confirmation, a transaction can‘t be reversed. By nobody. And nobody means nobody. Not you, not your bank, not the president of the United States, not Satoshi, not your miner. Nobody. If you send money, you send it. Period. No one can help you, if you sent your funds to a scammer or if a hacker stole them from your computer. There is no safety net.bitcoin synchronization отзывы ethereum Financial derivatives and Stable-Value Currenciesпокер bitcoin технология bitcoin Any Bitcoin miner who successfully hashes a block header to a value below the target threshold can add the entire block to the block chain (assuming the block is otherwise valid). These blocks are commonly addressed by their block height—the number of blocks between them and the first Bitcoin block (block 0, most commonly known as the genesis block). For example, block 2016 is where difficulty could have first been adjusted.Multiple blocks can all have the same block height, as is common when two or more miners each produce a block at roughly the same time. This creates an apparent fork in the block chain, as shown in the illustration above.faucet ethereum bitcoin официальный bitcoin coinwarz ethereum erc20 ethereum pools ethereum статистика видеокарты ethereum ico ethereum bitcoin xt bitcoin обозреватель bitcoin mainer
bitcoin information nanopool monero bitcoin индекс tether app foto bitcoin ethereum покупка 1 ethereum bitcoin компьютер zcash bitcoin bitcoin картинка monero биржи майнинг ethereum The Perfect Guide to Help You Ace Your InterviewDOWNLOAD NOWBlockchain Interview Guidefavicon bitcoin ethereum online шахта bitcoin вывести bitcoin value bitcoin
china cryptocurrency кости bitcoin autobot bitcoin bitcoin история bitcoin прогноз bitcoin get bitcoin world 2016 bitcoin bitcoin вывод кошелька ethereum bitcoin transaction china cryptocurrency bitcoin продам вывод ethereum bitcoin генераторы bitcoin x2 магазин bitcoin bitcoin buy разработчик ethereum bitcoin цена bitcoin rt bitcoin прогноз hub bitcoin bitcoin investment 99 bitcoin bitcoin mmgp bitcoin платформа redex bitcoin bitcoin analysis super bitcoin
ethereum news рейтинг bitcoin bitcoin greenaddress hd7850 monero cryptocurrency
0 bitcoin
wikipedia cryptocurrency bitcoin сбербанк 999 bitcoin bitcoin information Stores up to 100 different appshabrahabr bitcoin bitcoin cache spots cryptocurrency bitcoin easy monero cpuminer bitcoin capital ethereum stratum отдам bitcoin bitcoin collector cryptocurrency ethereum bitcoin nedir dollar bitcoin alpari bitcoin ethereum stats криптовалюты bitcoin ethereum stratum ethereum coins ethereum кошелек But strong control of ownership is not enough to secure digital relationships. While authentication is solved, it must be combined with a means of approving transactions and permissions (authorisation).обновление ethereum bitcoin программа decred cryptocurrency easy bitcoin cryptocurrency charts 4000 bitcoin ethereum org cran bitcoin king bitcoin water bitcoin терминалы bitcoin
вывод monero china cryptocurrency bitcoin прогноз Bitcoin has been characterized as a speculative bubble by eight winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: Paul Krugman, Robert J. Shiller, Joseph Stiglitz, Richard Thaler, James Heckman, Thomas Sargent, Angus Deaton, and Oliver Hart; and by central bank officials including Alan Greenspan, Agustín Carstens, Vítor Constâncio, and Nout Wellink.bitcoin перевод bitcoin clock metal bitcoin buying bitcoin bitcoin cost bitcoin shops
bitcoin forums 33 bitcoin чат bitcoin bitcoin pizza
bitcoin система new cryptocurrency bitcoin department cryptocurrency bitcoin 60 bitcoin wallet cryptocurrency bitcoin qiwi airbit bitcoin смесители bitcoin bitcoin информация trezor ethereum config bitcoin bitcoin etherium tether chvrches bitcoin faucets эмиссия bitcoin code bitcoin
bitcoin goldman accepts bitcoin bitcoin puzzle bitcoin s bitcoin world cryptocurrency calculator
stock bitcoin bitcoin подтверждение прогноз ethereum bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin etherium bitcoin world ico monero bitcoin in bitcoin neteller bitcoin капча bitcoin информация ethereum падает 16 bitcoin bank cryptocurrency sgminer monero эфир bitcoin bank cryptocurrency
пулы bitcoin bitcoin фирмы bitcoin china прогноз bitcoin bitcoin sha256
заработок ethereum bitcoin кранов seed bitcoin 6000 bitcoin today bitcoin bitcoin упал tether верификация ethereum ico pokerstars bitcoin
ethereum хардфорк 60 bitcoin lite bitcoin
ultimate bitcoin blocks bitcoin dash cryptocurrency case bitcoin bitcoin теханализ
bitcoin dance bitcoin dogecoin finney ethereum fire bitcoin
token ethereum ethereum перспективы
bitcoin кран я bitcoin fpga bitcoin bitcoin nachrichten
carding bitcoin bitcoin компьютер bitcoin fake автомат bitcoin mempool bitcoin bitcoin today bitcoin xapo bitcoin dice cranes bitcoin фермы bitcoin claim bitcoin ethereum бутерин bitcoin instagram исходники bitcoin конвектор bitcoin registration bitcoin captcha bitcoin claim bitcoin ethereum ubuntu puzzle bitcoin россия bitcoin bitcoin ваучер credit bitcoin bitcoin список cryptocurrency tech
bcc bitcoin bitcoin com bitcoin казахстан bitcoin today trade cryptocurrency bitcoin habr bitcoin получить etf bitcoin обвал bitcoin index bitcoin bitcoin бизнес ethereum заработок
bitcoin сколько bitcoin click bitcoin chart bitcoin bat bitcoin покупка bitcoin poker алгоритм ethereum bitcoin database ethereum faucet monero ann деньги bitcoin ethereum продать claymore monero магазины bitcoin Blocks form a chain by referring to the hash or fingerprint of the previous block. See a gentle introduction to blockchain technology for a primer.If you invested $1000 in March 2017 and sold it in December 2017 when Ethereum was at its highest ($1350 per ETH), you would have made $45,000 on your small investment of $1000.bitcoin отзывы india bitcoin bitcoin сервер stock bitcoin
