Category: 5. A fork in the road

And thus we go back to human tribalism. It’s in human nature to form groups, to take sides, and to fight with other groups. We see this on all kinds of scale: from family feuds, to football teams, to rival countries – and cryptocurrencies are no different. So it’s not surprising that one of these… Continue reading Bitcoin maximalism and going beyond Bitcoin 

While these splits have been widely criticised by purists – known in the crypto community as Bitcoin maximalists, as we’ll see below – forking lies in the very nature of Bitcoin.  And so, starting in 2011, new cryptocurrencies began popping up. Initially, projects began by forking Bitcoin’s codebase (but without necessarily splitting the existing network),… Continue reading Altcoins and notable Bitcoin forks

Scenario 1: Planned improvement with full agreement The entire community is on board with the changes and updates their software. If this happens, the fork isn’t really a fork, as the entire network follows the same path. The old network dies out; end of story. This scenario is likely to play out when the change… Continue reading Scenario 1, 2 and 3:

Not all changes in code require a fork, while changes in fundamental rules will inevitably lead to one. There are two types of forks: soft forks and hard forks.  What is a soft fork? A Soft Fork is a code change that doesn’t break the rules of the old version – meaning both the older… Continue reading Soft forks vs Hard forks

There are four main roles in the Bitcoin ecosystem. These aren’t mutually exclusive, and there can be overlap between two or more roles. Developers Miners Full node operators Light node users Developers Software developers are in charge of creating, maintaining, and upgrading Bitcoin. The reference code, followed by most implementations, is called Bitcoin Core.  Bitcoin… Continue reading Who`s who in Bitcoin

Every now and then, you get a notification from your mobile bank app telling you to download an update, which may include bug fixes, improvements, and new features. Updates of this type aren’t very controversial, since you don’t really have any influence over the changes. And if you refuse Barclay’s most recent update, you’ll soon… Continue reading A fork in the road

What you’ll learn: What is a fork? How bitcoin agrees to change Getting everybody on board What happens during a fork,  The consequences for holders of a forked cryptocurrency