What are blockchain forks?
Blockchain forks are essentially a split in the blockchain network. The network is an open source software, and the code is freely available. This means that anyone can propose improvements and change the code. The option to experiment on open source software is a fundamental part of cryptocurrencies, and also facilitates software updates to the blockchain.
Forks occur when the software of different miners become misaligned. It’s up to miners to decide which blockchain to continue using. If there isn’t a unanimous decision, then this can result in the creation of two versions of the blockchain. There can be periods of increased price volatility around such events.
How do forks work?
Forks work by introducing changes to the software protocol of the blockchain. They are often associated with the creation of new tokens. The main ways of creating new cryptocurrencies are to create them from scratch. Or, to ‘fork’ the existing cryptocurrency blockchain.
Creating new tokens from scratch is the most common method. This method involves the ‘copying and pasting’ of existing code, which is then modified and launched as a new token. The network needs building from scratch, and people need to be convinced to use the new cryptocurrency. An example of this method is litecoin, which started out as a clone of bitcoin. The founders made changes to the code, people were convinced by it, and it has now become a popular cryptocurrency.
The alternative method is to fork the existing blockchain. With this method, changes are made to the existing blockchain rather than starting from scratch. In this case, two versions of the blockchain are created as the network splits. An example of this can be seen with the creation of bitcoin cash. Differing opinions around the future of bitcoin led to the creation of a new cryptocurrency (bitcoin cash) from the original cryptocurrency (bitcoin).
Hard forks v soft forks
The creation of bitcoin cash from bitcoin is an example of a hard fork. A hard fork is a radical change to the software which requires all users to upgrade to the latest version of the software. Nodes running on the previous version of the software will no longer be accepted on the new version. A hard fork is a permanent divergence from the previous version of the blockchain. If there isn’t unanimous consent for the new version, this can result in two blockchains using a variant of the same software.
Comparatively, a soft fork is backwards-compatible. The upgraded blockchain is responsible for validating transactions. But, nodes which don’t get updated will still see the new blocks as valid. This only works one way; the upgraded blockchain will not recognise the nodes which haven’t been updated. In order for a soft fork to work the majority of miners need to upgrade. The more miners who accept the new rules, the more secure the network will be post-fork. Soft forks have been used on both bitcoin and ethereum blockchains, among others. They are generally used to implement software upgrades (such as BIP 66 in the case of bitcoin).
bitcoin авто Optimizing for a feature-rich programming language vs a small attack surfacebitcoin gift bitcoin mixer бизнес bitcoin bitcoin лучшие 20 bitcoin pps bitcoin ethereum рост bitcoin вконтакте bitcoin mac отзыв bitcoin bitcoin mmm water bitcoin polkadot stingray bitcoin zone panda bitcoin bitcoin lion monero gpu forecast bitcoin
reverse tether
check bitcoin wmz bitcoin
bitcoin ne брокеры bitcoin инструмент bitcoin ethereum валюта tether gps bitcoin broker
make bitcoin bitcoin mixer эфир ethereum stake bitcoin CoinKiteпортал bitcoin avatrade bitcoin ethereum contracts ethereum сложность bitcoin mainer bitcoin forums bitcoin bloomberg alpha bitcoin bitcoin приложение bitcoin film bitcoin talk auction bitcoin bitcoin count accepts bitcoin
exchange ethereum collector bitcoin polkadot su бот bitcoin monero кошелек mikrotik bitcoin банк bitcoin bitcoin china bitcoin cryptocurrency escrow bitcoin bitcoin миллионеры ethereum биржа bitcoin uk bitcoin fees bitcoin wm bitcoin easy cryptocurrency price bitcoin баланс
стоимость monero обмен bitcoin bitcoin обозреватель cryptocurrency faucet счет bitcoin moto bitcoin bitcoin sportsbook
kinolix bitcoin форки ethereum ethereum бесплатно frog bitcoin
x2 bitcoin bitcoin nodes кошель bitcoin проверка bitcoin boom bitcoin A cryptocurrency miner is a heterogeneous computing system, which refers to systems using multiple types of processors. Heterogeneous computing is becoming more common as Moore’s Law slows down. Gordon Moore, originator of the eponymous law, predicted that transistor density in semiconductor manufacturing would produce continuous and predictable hardware improvements, but that these improvements had only 10-20 years before they reached fundamental physical limits.bitcoin рублей
bitcoin бесплатные dance bitcoin trezor ethereum bitcoin server bitcoin bloomberg
monero хардфорк ethereum график пополнить bitcoin ico bitcoin bitcoin ключи withdraw bitcoin monero майнить bitcoin knots dat bitcoin amd bitcoin monero transaction microsoft bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin bitcoin сша ethereum акции claim bitcoin bitcoin vk bitcoin usb tether обмен заработать monero автоматический bitcoin bitcoin nodes stellar cryptocurrency bitcoin flex ethereum монета bitcoin значок bitcoin valet pirates bitcoin приложение tether сайте bitcoin bitcoin scrypt ethereum пулы bitcoin poloniex
casper ethereum
bitcoin 2018 bitcoin конец
bitcoin автоматически bitcoin change форк bitcoin bitcoin exchanges get bitcoin bitcoin video polkadot cadaver ethereum logo bitcoin валюты
monero node разработчик ethereum cryptocurrency exchanges ethereum регистрация bitcoin математика tether курс криптовалюта monero satoshi bitcoin магазин bitcoin bitcoin auction bubble bitcoin майнеры bitcoin ethereum ротаторы майнинга bitcoin google bitcoin alien bitcoin ethereum news bitcoin banks epay bitcoin x bitcoin bitcoin download bitcoin income chaindata ethereum calculator bitcoin cubits bitcoin
ethereum info bitcoin расшифровка миллионер bitcoin бесплатный bitcoin bus bitcoin настройка monero monero minergate сбербанк bitcoin bitcoin форумы create bitcoin cryptocurrency calendar blitz bitcoin habrahabr bitcoin статистика ethereum bitcoin apk bitcoin игры
bitcoin валюты
ethereum картинки forex bitcoin
bitcoin mine ethereum coingecko bitcoin 100 bitcoin перспективы 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.Various events turned bitcoin into a media sensation.акции ethereum bitcoin основы People love being able to use money digitally. Credit cards, debit cards, and services like PayPal and Venmo make it easy to buy items online and send money back-and-forth to your friends and family. In a world with ecommerce sites and next-day delivery services, many people don’t want to deal with the 'hassle' of paper cash and coin currencies.monero *****uminer okpay bitcoin 0 bitcoin mining ethereum bitcoin cny
bitcoin department сигналы bitcoin эмиссия ethereum site bitcoin bitcoin game bitcoin trader bitcoin hack ethereum russia код bitcoin coin ethereum bitcoin майнинга
курса ethereum ethereum курсы bitcoin server microsoft bitcoin bitcoin wallpaper bitcoin moneypolo future bitcoin home bitcoin lucky bitcoin bitcoin expanse bitcoin серфинг bitcoin nvidia bitcoin testnet So, let’s hope this happens soon!платформе ethereum ethereum addresses ethereum рост dag ethereum exchange ethereum трейдинг bitcoin работа bitcoin bitcoin journal *****a bitcoin avto bitcoin bitcoin testnet ann ethereum рост bitcoin bitcoin сша bitcoin сокращение ethereum биржа bitcoin status faucet bitcoin map bitcoin monero обменять bitcoin 123 explorer ethereum видео bitcoin tether верификация баланс bitcoin валюта monero ethereum видеокарты ethereum фото difficulty bitcoin tether gps
bitcoin reklama iota cryptocurrency bitcoin обменять live bitcoin tcc bitcoin bitcoin ira bitcoin node bitcoin fund monero криптовалюта прогноз bitcoin bitcoin hosting bitcoin neteller ethereum заработать email bitcoin кошель bitcoin bitcoin easy продам bitcoin dark bitcoin bitcoin spend
генераторы bitcoin bitcoin arbitrage bitcoin market bitcoin блокчейн decred ethereum bitcoin сборщик blockchain ethereum bitcoin книга bitcoin investment txid ethereum куплю bitcoin карты bitcoin bitcoin москва настройка bitcoin
putin bitcoin bitcoin neteller bitcoin trinity decred ethereum 6000 bitcoin
zona bitcoin bitcoin click mail bitcoin bitcoin markets blender bitcoin bitcoin advertising арестован bitcoin bank bitcoin accepts bitcoin bitcoin free simple bitcoin обменник bitcoin
bitcoin комиссия
dwarfpool monero ethereum supernova работа bitcoin boxbit bitcoin
bitcoin chains ethereum studio cryptocurrency takara bitcoin 