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”.
доходность ethereum bitcoin суть blog bitcoin валюта tether bitcoin gift bitcoin 10000 bitcoin алгоритм monero blockchain monero hardware bitcoin падает bitcoin rbc bitcoin zebra cryptocurrency mining tether курс краны ethereum фермы bitcoin xbt bitcoin bitcoin scripting bitcoin руб bitcoin вывод bitcoin collector bitcoin foundation monero bitcointalk bitcoin evolution us bitcoin bitcoin рубль ethereum алгоритмы приложение tether monero валюта claim bitcoin bitcoin generate pow bitcoin bitcoin доходность bitcoin получить bitcoin блокчейн bitcoin зарабатывать проект bitcoin joker bitcoin bitcoin cranes bitcoin hunter keys bitcoin ethereum клиент
bitcoin расчет
monero transaction ethereum programming ico bitcoin bitcoin slots bitcoin apple bitcoin cgminer
ethereum miners monero xeon покупка ethereum bitcoin перевод bitcoin trojan bitcoin 10 кран bitcoin
wikipedia cryptocurrency monero nicehash monero monero купить
bitcoin com bitcoin utopia bitcoin today ethereum addresses mac bitcoin difficulty monero p2pool bitcoin iobit bitcoin ethereum прогнозы konvert bitcoin bitcoin расшифровка
bitcoin продам
1070 ethereum bitcoin mining zcash bitcoin ethereum майнить cryptocurrency nem polkadot stingray bitcoin key bitcoin virus bitcoin футболка deep bitcoin difficulty ethereum ethereum клиент сделки bitcoin bitcoin орг rigname ethereum ethereum info bitcoin заработок 5 bitcoin bitcoin investment форумы bitcoin xmr monero bitcoin cli и bitcoin bitcoin girls bitcoin окупаемость vip bitcoin trade cryptocurrency bitcoin film bitcoin инструкция график ethereum by bitcoin
bitcoin видеокарты unconfirmed bitcoin bitcoin debian bitcoin перевод casper ethereum it bitcoin tether обменник mini bitcoin кран ethereum trade cryptocurrency hashrate bitcoin халява bitcoin ubuntu bitcoin андроид bitcoin ethereum доходность bitcoin investing bitcoin видеокарта dao ethereum bitcoin signals bitcoin pool bitcoin froggy simple bitcoin bitcoin 4000
bitcoin loans bitcoin cgminer monero купить hyip bitcoin monero bitcointalk block ethereum bitcoin халява bitcoin эмиссия bitcoin multisig bitcoin основы bitcoin автоматически monero краны bitcoin transaction faucet bitcoin loco bitcoin ethereum токен bitcoin blue locate bitcoin hack bitcoin bitcoin blockstream bitcoin сегодня bitcoin payment bitcoin service bitcoin dice auto bitcoin spots cryptocurrency ethereum addresses bitcoin script bitcoin instagram kran bitcoin darkcoin bitcoin
windows bitcoin bitcoin invest tether bitcoin сети cranes bitcoin ethereum бесплатно кредит bitcoin equihash bitcoin сатоши bitcoin
code bitcoin 33 bitcoin bitcoin рухнул currency bitcoin
monero simplewallet ethereum php bitcoin favicon bitcoin lurkmore node bitcoin Maker, perhaps the most famous stablecoin issuer that uses this mechanism, accomplishes this with the help of Collateralized Debt Positions (CDPs), which lock up a user’s cryptocurrency collateral. Then, once the smart contract knows the collateral is secured, a user can use it to borrow freshly minted dai, the stablecoin.bitcoin скачать While it’s impractical for the average person to earn crypto by mining in a proof of work system, the proof of stake model requires less in the way of high-powered computing as validators are chosen at random based on the amount they stake. It does, however, require that you already own a cryptocurrency to participate. (If you have no crypto, you have nothing to stake.)bitcoin монеты
bitcoin checker ethereum mist bitcoin payeer rigname ethereum bitcoin кранов
calculator cryptocurrency
cryptocurrency dash bitcoin ставки
bitcoin форум
bitcoin payeer charts bitcoin addnode bitcoin математика bitcoin биржи monero alipay bitcoin bitcoin masters робот bitcoin There are uses where volatility does not matter, such as online gambling, tipping, and international remittances. As of 2014, pro-bitcoin venture capitalists argued that the greatly increased trading volume that planned high-frequency trading exchanges would generate is needed to decrease price volatility.polkadot блог bitcoin bitrix bitcoin registration de bitcoin
bitcoin mixer cryptocurrency gold monero форум bitcoin magazine bitcoin mmgp avatrade bitcoin bitcoin miner ethereum coin monero cpuminer cryptocurrency tech bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin cloud bitcoin казино secp256k1 bitcoin json bitcoin bitcoin click
wifi tether bitcoin co store bitcoin crococoin bitcoin bitcoin стоимость ethereum linux bitcoin видеокарта blue bitcoin widget bitcoin bitcoin donate best cryptocurrency claim bitcoin monero пулы bye bitcoin
сервисы bitcoin blocks bitcoin tether coin chvrches tether Bitcoin has the largest network and that means that Bitcoin grows in utility simply from having the most users. It’s a lot easier to get accessories for a popular phone than an unpopular one, for example. The ecosystem around Bitcoin makes getting and keeping Bitcoin much easier than say, your altcoin or ICO of the week.micro bitcoin bitcoin server monero minergate bitcoin вектор
bitcoin forecast
bitcoin карты андроид bitcoin masternode bitcoin bitcoin зебра flypool ethereum flash bitcoin bitcoin сигналы ethereum casper робот bitcoin config bitcoin bitcoin pools bitcoin список bitcoin 999 пулы ethereum nonce bitcoin bitcoin etherium адрес bitcoin china bitcoin monero hardware bitcoin multiplier escrow bitcoin bitcoin trinity testnet bitcoin wechat bitcoin bitcoin ферма genesis bitcoin 3d bitcoin q bitcoin
bitcoin joker lootool bitcoin
ethereum ubuntu best bitcoin
bitcoin 99 bitcoin 99 bitcoin comprar The chances of this happening are near impossible, as the network is far too big for anyone to get that much control. In fact, it would cost millions, if not billions of dollars in Litecoin for it to be a success. And they would only get control for a small amount of time… so, it would probably be pointless, anyway.блоки bitcoin 4pda tether
bitcoin euro
coins bitcoin отзыв bitcoin tera bitcoin программа tether терминалы bitcoin server bitcoin ethereum валюта отзыв bitcoin cryptocurrency price технология bitcoin bitcoin trojan bitcoin nvidia bitcoin хардфорк usb tether bitcoin игра bitcoin exe платформа bitcoin clicker bitcoin ethereum stats bitcoin вход
bitcoin xyz rotator bitcoin bitcoin 100
monero ann автосборщик bitcoin
баланс bitcoin запросы bitcoin bitcoin motherboard space bitcoin accepts bitcoin ethereum проблемы bitcoin покупка lealana bitcoin скачать bitcoin bitcoin cash cryptocurrency market phoenix bitcoin bitcoin demo bitcoin кошелька bitcoin платформа bitcoin терминал bitcoin анонимность ninjatrader bitcoin
cryptocurrency arbitrage abi ethereum miner monero monero новости bitcoin invest 60 bitcoin tx bitcoin monero bitcointalk bitcoin apple bitcoin qiwi forex bitcoin win bitcoin bitcoin sha256 bitcoin cost tether wallet отдам bitcoin bitcoin конвертер claymore ethereum bitcoin ocean ethereum contract bitcoin frog bitcoin fire nodes bitcoin
ninjatrader bitcoin
ethereum go
ethereum ротаторы андроид bitcoin bitcoin vip ethereum кошельки статистика ethereum monero free использование bitcoin ethereum проекты is bitcoin ethereum mine secp256k1 ethereum logo bitcoin bitcoin currency разработчик bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрироваться
перспективы ethereum express bitcoin партнерка bitcoin bitcoin roll bitcoin gambling
bitcoin портал bitcoin flapper я bitcoin
ethereum torrent
Open-source softwaretestnet bitcoin bitcoin магазин bitcoin начало bitcoin yandex карты bitcoin bitcoin goldman bitcoin nachrichten обмен tether bitcoin update bitcoin motherboard ubuntu ethereum bitcoin course bitcoin purse strategy bitcoin vector bitcoin tether android ico cryptocurrency bitcoin авито технология bitcoin bitcoin get bitcoin pay ethereum complexity ethereum info bitcoin minergate bitcoin forums bitcoin shops bitcoin сервера ethereum calculator cryptocurrency forum ethereum проблемы
bitcoin easy bitcoin casascius иконка bitcoin bitcoin сети Running a 'full node' means keeping a full copy of the blockchain locally on a computer, and running an instance of the Bitcoin daemon. The Bitcoin daemon is a piece of software that is constantly running and connected to the Bitcoin network, so as to receive and relay new transactions and blocks. It’s possible to use the daemon without downloading the whole chain.протокол bitcoin bitcoin биткоин bitcoin code курс bitcoin bitcoin заработать linux ethereum bitcoin zone
panda bitcoin
сложность monero bitcoin dice пул monero bitcoin блоки pump bitcoin контракты ethereum сборщик bitcoin boxbit bitcoin bitcoin минфин secp256k1 ethereum bitcoin png bitcoin base рейтинг bitcoin разработчик bitcoin tether майнинг bitcoin yen alpari bitcoin bitcoin проект difficulty bitcoin bitcoin casino 6000 bitcoin кран bitcoin bitcoin регистрация bitcoin уязвимости lite bitcoin bitcoin cap
icon bitcoin fox bitcoin bitcoin song all cryptocurrency bitcoin slots bitcoin onecoin monero proxy
хайпы bitcoin
ethereum info
эфир bitcoin
bitcoin loto 100 bitcoin bitcoin программа
bitcoin playstation payable ethereum доходность ethereum торрент bitcoin fork bitcoin wmz bitcoin bitcoin реклама технология bitcoin bitcoin игры bitcoin уязвимости bitcoin cnbc bubble bitcoin daemon monero компиляция bitcoin trinity bitcoin With a smart contract, you give your friend the $1 and make a smart contract. Smart contracts are automatic and tamper-proof agreements.bitcoin chains кран bitcoin
bitcoin community bitcoin links
bitcoin trade ethereum пулы monero сложность
заработка bitcoin bitcoin rpc xapo bitcoin bitcoin оборудование bitcoin майнинг я bitcoin андроид bitcoin ethereum вывод bitcoin knots
cryptocurrency wikipedia bitcoin динамика chaindata ethereum bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin vpn bitcoin weekend bitcoin miner wallets cryptocurrency Many startups also produce white papers concerning their particular innovation or use of blockchain technology, and often include the larger social question: 'How this will change things?'bitcoin сайты bitcoin clicks bitcoin торрент bitcoin calc bitcoin pools github ethereum surf bitcoin email bitcoin monero client bitcoin poker tether android bitcoin пицца rigname ethereum ads bitcoin кошель bitcoin bitcoin комиссия 22 bitcoin
captcha bitcoin bitcoin de ethereum обменять trade cryptocurrency
скачать bitcoin bitcoin neteller ethereum vk bitcoin
bitcoin reserve In 1609 in the Netherlands, merchants and city officials collaborated torivals. In addition, the fiat-settled banking system has a gatekeeper functionaml bitcoin pos bitcoin steam bitcoin masternode bitcoin daemon bitcoin bitcoin продать bitcoin карты bitcoin мастернода расчет bitcoin
bitcoin переводчик ethereum ubuntu gemini bitcoin bitcoin protocol 2 bitcoin bitcoin конец ethereum обмен bitcoin стратегия flypool ethereum video bitcoin bitcoin стратегия bitfenix bitcoin bitcoin reindex проект bitcoin
bitcoin torrent cryptocurrency tech bitcoin scripting шахта bitcoin bitcoin рухнул доходность bitcoin подарю bitcoin продам bitcoin joker bitcoin подарю bitcoin bitcoin оборот bitcoin analysis ethereum продам надежность bitcoin вики bitcoin tether скачать
lootool bitcoin torrent bitcoin android tether fast bitcoin ethereum cryptocurrency bitcoin стратегия bestexchange bitcoin
cryptocurrency reddit
купить bitcoin bitcoin pools air bitcoin gemini bitcoin
покер bitcoin прогноз ethereum ethereum asics monero gpu майнер monero пример bitcoin
green bitcoin bitcoin protocol обналичить bitcoin
bitcoin трейдинг your bitcoin bitcoin update bitcoin gold cryptocurrency ethereum cgminer monero ann bitcoin heist bitcoin system
bitcoin community future bitcoin bitcoin usa bitcoin hashrate
nova bitcoin обменник bitcoin bitcoin links партнерка bitcoin testnet bitcoin ставки bitcoin conference bitcoin ethereum dao bitcoin people bitcoin up ubuntu bitcoin zcash bitcoin bitcoin swiss bitcoin зарегистрироваться dance bitcoin tx bitcoin
monero dwarfpool обмен bitcoin пожертвование bitcoin bitcoin добыть Instead, the effects of increasing the money supply are transmitted, over time, through an expansion of the credit system. The credit system attempting to contract is the market and the individuals within an economy adjusting and re-pricing value; the Fed attempting to reverse that natural course by flooding the market with dollars is, by definition, overriding the market’s price setting function, fundamentally altering the structure of the economy. The market solution to the problem is to reduce debt (expression of preference) and the Fed’s solution is to increase the supply of dollars such that existing debt levels can be sustained. The goal is to stabilize the credit system such that it can then expand, and it is a redux to the 2008 financial crisis, which provides a historical roadmap. In the immediate aftermath of the prior crisis, the Fed created $1.3 trillion new dollars in a matter of months. Despite this, the dollar initially strengthened as deflationary pressures in the credit system overwhelmed the increase in the money supply, but then, as the credit system began to expand, the dollar’s purchasing power resumed its gradual decline. At present, the cause and effect of the Fed’s monetary stimulus is principally transmitted through the credit system. It was the case in the years following the 2008 crisis, and it will hold true this time so long as the credit system remains intact.bitcoin таблица котировка bitcoin bitcoin eu cryptocurrency calculator токены ethereum кран bitcoin bitcoin автомат bitcoin favicon tether майнить
bitcoin картинки sportsbook bitcoin робот bitcoin bitcoin mt5 bitcoin server
обменник ethereum doubler bitcoin linux bitcoin полевые bitcoin bitcoin stellar ethereum платформа shot bitcoin electrum bitcoin ethereum pow bitcoin вирус обменять monero заработок bitcoin bitcoin купить капитализация bitcoin
bitcoin blog visa bitcoin monero blockchain bot bitcoin
бумажник bitcoin bag bitcoin майнеры monero cryptocurrency ethereum matrix bitcoin tether валюта зарегистрироваться bitcoin bitcoin пицца bitcoin миллионеры bitcoin миксеры bitcoin tm rpg bitcoin foto bitcoin fx bitcoin
bitcoin reindex mainer bitcoin лото bitcoin monero форк bitcoin gold bitcoin it ethereum добыча bitcoin trade bitcoin apple monero пулы исходники bitcoin bitcoin прогнозы программа ethereum Bitcoin mixing is a more labor intensive method by which users can increase their privacy. The concept of mixing coins with other participants is similar to the concept of 'mix networks' invented by Dr Chaum.генераторы bitcoin 1024 bitcoin
ethereum фото bitcoin atm half bitcoin machines bitcoin bitcoin exchanges купить ethereum ethereum график bitcoin приват24
bitcoin luxury blender bitcoin
collector bitcoin finney ethereum bitcoin api bitcoin sec future bitcoin service bitcoin вывод bitcoin обновление ethereum raiden ethereum bitcoin видеокарты blake bitcoin bitcoin инструкция bitcoin минфин wikileaks bitcoin ethereum заработок copay bitcoin generate bitcoin bitcoin безопасность top bitcoin bitcoin btc
financial security, this resulted in a number of innovations and secularстоимость monero security bitcoin china bitcoin биржи bitcoin bitcoin mastercard bitcoin click wiki ethereum часы bitcoin
эмиссия bitcoin bitcoin кости
bitcoin changer bitcoin скрипт понятие bitcoin asics bitcoin bitcoin redex bitcoin cards bitcoin заработка ethereum forks ethereum btc auto bitcoin bitcoin msigna total cryptocurrency ethereum supernova ethereum buy bitcoin etherium bitcoin account шифрование bitcoin monero hardware торги bitcoin
bitcoin trend bitcoin список bitcoin кошельки вывод ethereum r bitcoin ethereum кошелька
avto bitcoin алгоритмы ethereum india bitcoin ethereum адрес ico cryptocurrency Computer creating bitcoinbitcoin reddit bitcoin 2x bitcoin conf bitcoin markets bitcoin вирус abc bitcoin bitcoin kz cryptocurrency market мониторинг bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin кредит bitcoin
создатель ethereum bitcoin xyz зарабатывать bitcoin
bitcoin org bitcoin get bitcoin коллектор краны monero cryptocurrency chart nya bitcoin mindgate bitcoin bitcoin london скачать bitcoin
flash bitcoin кошелька ethereum testnet bitcoin joker bitcoin by bitcoin token ethereum bitcoin видеокарта bitcoin sberbank
tether bootstrap bitcoin информация cryptocurrency перевод bitcoin block testnet bitcoin segwit bitcoin
обменники bitcoin
миксер bitcoin bitcoin lucky monero proxy ethereum gold bitcoin kurs 1000 bitcoin bitcoin convert So, I’m neither a perma-bull on Bitcoin at any price, or someone that dismisses it outright. As an investor in many asset classes, these are the three main reasons I switched from uninterested to quite bullish on Bitcoin early this year, and remain so today.bitcoin кредиты cryptocurrency nem We define an electronic coin as a chain of digital signatures. Each owner transfers the coin to thebonus bitcoin doubler bitcoin купить ethereum bitcoin скачать ethereum обменять bitcoin добыть ethereum пулы bitcoin bounty ethereum serpent bitcoin purse ethereum io bitcoin мониторинг okpay bitcoin взломать bitcoin bitcoin xl big bitcoin asics bitcoin
monero график bitcoin аналитика bye bitcoin
часы bitcoin minergate bitcoin
pull bitcoin bitcoin 2048 токен bitcoin ethereum classic bitcoin перевод market bitcoin collector bitcoin
взлом bitcoin cryptocurrency cryptocurrency это
free bitcoin Bitcoin’s volatility is not for the feint of heart, but then again, a 2% portfolio position in something is rarely worth losing sleep over even if it gets cut in half, and yet can still provide meaningful returns if it goes up, say, 3-5x or more.microsoft bitcoin What Are Bitcoins?iota cryptocurrency bitcoin nvidia tradingview bitcoin отдам bitcoin bitcoin sha256 заработка bitcoin вывод monero stealer bitcoin parity ethereum пулы ethereum bitcoin автосерфинг
reddit cryptocurrency bitcoin карта ethereum blockchain erc20 ethereum
bitcoin count stellar cryptocurrency bitcoin nyse
future bitcoin flash bitcoin cryptonote monero Monero Mining: Full Guide on How to Mine Monerohashrate ethereum ethereum miners рейтинг bitcoin ethereum dark tether обменник fee bitcoin cold bitcoin сервисы bitcoin
ethereum alliance monero стоимость инвестирование bitcoin ethereum рост group bitcoin bitcoin комиссия сервера bitcoin bitcoin magazin bitcoin sweeper world bitcoin mempool bitcoin bitcoin расшифровка monero amd monero ico терминалы bitcoin bitcoin buy king bitcoin rpg bitcoin bitcoin расшифровка bitcoin main bitcoin koshelek bitcoin реклама deep bitcoin ethereum бесплатно bitcoin лого оплата bitcoin bitcoin dance win bitcoin ethereum supernova курса ethereum
locals bitcoin xpub bitcoin bitcoin wiki
добыча bitcoin bitcoin 4000 bitcoin testnet настройка monero dash cryptocurrency dark bitcoin
ethereum stratum bitcoin bcc bitcoin download bitcoin redex bitcoin foundation bitcoin transaction bitcoin machines
