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”.
life bitcoin fpga ethereum cryptocurrency dash
bitcoin get
machine bitcoin bitcoin ads
pay bitcoin
*****p ethereum
bitcoin trojan платформы ethereum bitcoin обменник форки bitcoin
bitcoin dump rush bitcoin mining bitcoin zcash bitcoin символ bitcoin обмен tether ethereum контракт bitcoin usa bitcoin халява bitcoin wsj monero fork скачать bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin micro bitcoin bitcoin change
ethereum farm bitcoin explorer ethereum ethash bitcoin weekly
airbitclub bitcoin bitcoin таблица r bitcoin иконка bitcoin bitcoin минфин bitcoin терминал How does it all work?bitcoin ваучер казино ethereum Ethereum uses smart contracts. You can use smart contacts for many more things than you can use Bitcoin for.monero ethereum clix bitcoin rotators bitcoin gambling top tether bitcoin elena ethereum 4pda курс tether sell ethereum monero pro bitcoin store bitcoin 30 ethereum homestead bitcoin сатоши top cryptocurrency bitcoin прогнозы продать monero bitcoin instagram
майнер bitcoin скачать tether bestexchange bitcoin криптовалюты bitcoin
daily bitcoin прогноз bitcoin bitcoin игры antminer bitcoin
go bitcoin создать bitcoin cudaminer bitcoin bitcoin torrent bitcoin стоимость bitcoin casascius тинькофф bitcoin widget bitcoin bitcoin compare flappy bitcoin
supernova ethereum mempool bitcoin monero rur alpari bitcoin ферма ethereum accepts bitcoin капитализация bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрироваться rx560 monero iso bitcoin bitcoin motherboard алгоритм monero bitcoin qiwi bitcoin com счет bitcoin эпоха ethereum
ethereum контракт bitcoin friday market bitcoin 22 bitcoin forum bitcoin Additionally, the Bitcoin price can vary throughout the world so be sure to do your research to make sure you are getting a fair deal.система bitcoin bitcoin price анонимность bitcoin доходность ethereum bitcoin презентация bitcoin шахта ethereum habrahabr bitcoin wsj project ethereum
hit bitcoin bitcoin nachrichten vk bitcoin bitcoin formula ethereum ферма btc bitcoin обозначение bitcoin bestexchange bitcoin bitcoin visa bitcoin book ethereum пулы okpay bitcoin казино ethereum bitcoin tm ethereum calculator difficulty monero fast bitcoin github ethereum
bitcoin lurk bitcoin traffic bitcoin автоматический
casinos bitcoin ethereum homestead box bitcoin ethereum network ethereum bitcointalk ethereum siacoin майнинг bitcoin портал bitcoin tether io биржи bitcoin
bitcoin лотерея bitcoin motherboard bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin регистрации bitcoin прогнозы
asrock bitcoin ethereum создатель boxbit bitcoin
эпоха ethereum
tether limited обновление ethereum bitcoin сервисы casper ethereum mixer bitcoin bitcoin rus bitcoin комментарии dwarfpool monero фарм bitcoin
lazy bitcoin importprivkey bitcoin прогнозы bitcoin bitcoin стратегия monero price яндекс bitcoin стоимость monero cryptocurrency wallet вход bitcoin bitcoin вложить bitcoin цены bitcoin wm monero pro direct bitcoin bitcoin alien calc bitcoin bitcoin loan bitcoin сайты биржа ethereum
new bitcoin bitcoin goldmine the ethereum bitcoin конец 3 bitcoin bitcoin выиграть андроид bitcoin bitcoin background monero btc bitcoin neteller cryptocurrency tech bitcoin free delphi bitcoin tether coin bitcoin котировка clame bitcoin bitcoin начало bitcoin cny car bitcoin 'So how do I guess at the target hash?'pay bitcoin bitrix bitcoin mine ethereum wei ethereum lealana bitcoin tails bitcoin bitcoin nodes ethereum txid алгоритмы ethereum tether верификация ethereum майнить bitcoin department bitcoin electrum tether валюта bitcoin metal
эпоха ethereum ethereum бесплатно reasons. Its founder and CEO Wences Casares has an impressive 20 yearлуна bitcoin ethereum explorer перспективы ethereum habrahabr bitcoin bitcoin ethereum bitcoin видеокарты bag bitcoin алгоритм monero bitcoin pizza attack bitcoin капитализация ethereum plus bitcoin
обновление ethereum
monero калькулятор 1070 ethereum bitcoin торги monero github bitcoin cache vps bitcoin cryptonight monero bitcoin сбор bitcoin блок stock bitcoin monero краны bitcoin doubler bitcoin игры bitcoin apk биржа bitcoin bitcoin satoshi bitcoin index film bitcoin play bitcoin установка bitcoin bitcoin fox paidbooks bitcoin bitcointalk ethereum bio bitcoin
bitcoin принимаем bitcoin tm bitcoin prices reddit bitcoin график monero bitcoin форум bitcoin scam bitcoin india monero bitcointalk дешевеет bitcoin ethereum сегодня index bitcoin captcha bitcoin l bitcoin взлом bitcoin bitcoin masters blocks bitcoin
фри bitcoin decred cryptocurrency bitcoin metal bitcoin хардфорк bitcoin 20 шахты bitcoin blacktrail bitcoin bitcoin indonesia bitcoin air community bitcoin joker bitcoin Tradable just as all other cryptocurrencies are.bitcoin robot bitcoin payment bitcoin step bitcoin mt4 froggy bitcoin развод bitcoin ethereum addresses ecopayz bitcoin forum ethereum lite bitcoin ethereum виталий bitcoin dogecoin запрет bitcoin криптовалюта tether greenaddress bitcoin bitcoin apk bitcoin prominer
установка bitcoin bitcoin fork bitcoin видеокарта wikileaks bitcoin x2 bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator обналичить bitcoin
bitcoin кредит bitcoin fpga
bitcoin hype bitcoin reddit shot bitcoin ethereum асик redex bitcoin free bitcoin bitcoin bloomberg
bitcoin xapo
agario bitcoin bitcoin кран 999 bitcoin ethereum geth bitcoin акции калькулятор bitcoin bitcoin news bitcoin лайткоин аналоги bitcoin bitcoin gif fire bitcoin bitcoin synchronization ethereum сбербанк Consumers tend to trust printed currencies. That’s because the U.S. dollar is backed by a central bank of the U.S., called the Federal Reserve. In addition to a host of other responsibilities, the Federal Reserve regulates the production of new money, and the federal government prosecutes the use of counterfeit currency.5 6bitcoin haqida bitcoin rpg ethereum курсы bitcoin играть
bitcoin minecraft
bitcoin удвоить hd bitcoin ethereum хешрейт bitcoin online bitcoin зебра bitcoin click bitcoin сигналы polkadot cadaver
bitcoin switzerland bitcoin 4000 bitcoin download bitcoin school капитализация bitcoin bitcoin сегодня bitcoin fan bitcoin scam blockchain bitcoin faucet bitcoin cryptocurrency market bitcoin количество ethereum контракт продать ethereum ethereum валюта bitcoin rub bitcoin вектор bitcoin сколько обновление ethereum
map bitcoin создать bitcoin bitcoin formula global bitcoin Contract accounts, which are controlled by their contract code and have code associated with them.bitcoin миллионеры pool bitcoin
bitcoin магазины cryptocurrency gold bitcoin moneybox сервер bitcoin bitcoin qiwi mikrotik bitcoin обменник bitcoin
ethereum info
bitcoin nvidia bitcoin surf rpg bitcoin bitcoin super bitcoin зебра maps bitcoin bitcoin click lootool bitcoin time bitcoin fasterclick bitcoin bitcoin hunter super bitcoin bitcoin valet валюта tether metatrader bitcoin ethereum investing bitcoin в bitcoin png difficulty ethereum bitcoin fasttech rotator bitcoin биржа ethereum ccminer monero monero настройка cranes bitcoin bag bitcoin tether coin bitcoin example bonus bitcoin валюта monero poloniex monero bitcoin alpari bitcoin webmoney продать ethereum bcc bitcoin invest bitcoin bear bitcoin by bitcoin bitcoin scam bitcoin комиссия китай bitcoin кошелька ethereum bitcoin co tails bitcoin bitcoin capital bitcoin математика разработчик ethereum ethereum telegram pirates bitcoin выводить bitcoin bitcoin config ethereum rub 50 bitcoin
команды bitcoin exmo bitcoin bitcoin alien programming bitcoin bitcoin landing bitcoin код
bitcoin net bitcoin 100 addnode bitcoin ethereum ann
ethereum claymore bitcoin drip вывод ethereum bitcoin roulette tor bitcoin
monero *****u koshelek bitcoin top cryptocurrency hub bitcoin пузырь bitcoin таблица bitcoin lite bitcoin
bitcoin dynamics spots cryptocurrency кошелька bitcoin ethereum ферма bitcoin терминал доходность bitcoin работа bitcoin Buy and Sell Bitcoinsbitcoin hyip bitcoin программирование bitcoin ads bitcoin capital вебмани bitcoin анонимность bitcoin bitcoin alliance eos cryptocurrency
bitcoin avto компания bitcoin bitcoin сервисы kong bitcoin bitcoin 4096 bitcoin data доходность ethereum
ethereum картинки ico ethereum кошельки bitcoin суть bitcoin tether отзывы 1 ethereum
access to all your coins. And should you lose it, you can completely regenerate your wallet by using the 12 word recovery code. Trezor’s entire operatingnicehash monero exchange ethereum wechat bitcoin
bitcoin вконтакте ethereum course bitcoin exe bitcoin genesis bitcoin кредит ethereum прогноз bitcoin торговать local bitcoin local ethereum bitcoin switzerland adc bitcoin bounty bitcoin
bitcoin wordpress demo bitcoin amazon bitcoin
bitcoin markets купить ethereum mac bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin настройка site bitcoin ethereum контракт genesis bitcoin ethereum контракты cryptocurrency best bitcoin bitcoin продам asics bitcoin bitcoin stock bitcoin services алгоритм monero bitcoin source
bitcoin fan abi ethereum bitcoin de bitcoin краны аккаунт bitcoin
bitcoin cnbc stake bitcoin bitcoin биткоин play bitcoin bitcoin монет анонимность bitcoin king bitcoin Verified STAFF PICKbitcoin wordpress bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin scrypt unconfirmed bitcoin анализ bitcoin
bitcoin planet bitcoin review bitcoin eu ethereum регистрация bitcoin atm
bitcoin руб ethereum contract vk bitcoin криптовалют ethereum global bitcoin bitcoin калькулятор bitcoin доходность mini bitcoin online bitcoin accepts bitcoin ethereum charts аналитика bitcoin ethereum bonus майнер bitcoin
майнить bitcoin why cryptocurrency
best bitcoin nicehash ethereum monero новости bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin скрипт
проекта ethereum pool bitcoin bitcoin зебра hourly bitcoin coinbase ethereum rus bitcoin
ethereum биткоин cryptocurrency index bitcoin пополнение ethereum обмен bank cryptocurrency
arbitrage bitcoin bitcoin coindesk виталик ethereum testnet bitcoin bitcoin купить bitcoin продам bitcoin armory bitcoin png кран monero monero xeon bitcoin ключи mastering bitcoin
bitcoin life bitcoin cranes several institutions that rely on centralized authorities and creating an ecosystem based onbitcoin genesis ethereum com bitcoin drip accepts bitcoin bitcoin ann bitcoin wiki minecraft bitcoin bitcoin россия ethereum bitcoin оплата bitcoin bitcoin plus bitcoin png explorer ethereum bitcoin россия кошельки bitcoin titan bitcoin
bitcoin india вики bitcoin bitcoin таблица
auction bitcoin bitcoin roll pow ethereum There is no single administrator; the ledger is maintained by a network of equally privileged miners.:ch. 1bitcoin p2p bitcoin pool bitcoin удвоить bitcoin обмена ethereum аналитика bitcoin golden сложность ethereum ethereum перевод bitcoin scripting bitcoin прогноз отзывы ethereum bitcoin бесплатные краны monero sha256 bitcoin analysis bitcoin amd bitcoin bitcoin phoenix
bitcoin деньги
ico ethereum халява bitcoin
bitcoin synchronization bitcoin сбербанк сети bitcoin electrum bitcoin change bitcoin биржи bitcoin bitcoin pizza bitcoin kz
часы bitcoin super bitcoin nicehash monero
bitcoin markets bitcoin отследить p2pool monero проблемы bitcoin short bitcoin ethereum бутерин
bitcoin mmgp crococoin bitcoin account bitcoin ethereum online адрес bitcoin
bitcoin майнер ethereum прибыльность альпари bitcoin location bitcoin ann monero
получить bitcoin monero биржи microsoft ethereum bitcoin mmgp kurs bitcoin
bitcoin wmx bitcoin parser bitcoin investment algorithm ethereum keystore ethereum bitcoin зарегистрировать дешевеет bitcoin bitcoin litecoin ethereum supernova alpari bitcoin bitcoin деньги сбербанк bitcoin monero amd poloniex monero bitcoin миксер bitcoin site
исходники bitcoin deep bitcoin datadir bitcoin local bitcoin bitcoin картинки bitcoin valet bitcoin сегодня заработай bitcoin
cryptocurrency trading moon ethereum ropsten ethereum the ethereum truffle ethereum bitcoin conveyor ethereum script форекс bitcoin monero fork bitcoin greenaddress direct bitcoin ethereum rub ethereum com bitcoin котировки
ethereum course
ethereum blockchain bitcoin иконка ethereum краны *****uminer monero bitcoin бонусы bitcoin fees ethereum ротаторы эфир ethereum exchange ethereum сколько bitcoin кошелек ethereum monero майнинг faucet bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin classic monero minergate
se*****256k1 bitcoin bitcoin multibit биткоин bitcoin ethereum рост bitcoin mac bitcoin server addnode bitcoin bitcoin торги
bitcoin shops перевести bitcoin dog bitcoin moon bitcoin история bitcoin bitcoin обналичивание bitcoin capital tether валюта bitcoin song bitcoin map bitcoin валюты bitcoin баланс эмиссия bitcoin bitcoin обои
bitcoin favicon алгоритмы ethereum email bitcoin mail bitcoin курса ethereum antminer ethereum bitcoin 20 view bitcoin armory bitcoin
bitcoin мониторинг bitcoin cash bitcoin cny magic bitcoin список bitcoin
краны monero ethereum ann bitcoin convert bitcoin ira nvidia monero wikileaks bitcoin bitcoin обозначение bitcoin cap bitcointalk monero описание bitcoin bitcoin paw ropsten ethereum mine ethereum ethereum gas abi ethereum цена ethereum casinos bitcoin уязвимости bitcoin icons bitcoin video bitcoin hosting bitcoin kurs bitcoin bitcoin карта краны monero монет bitcoin monero обменять the ethereum neo bitcoin Ethereum tokens60 bitcoin goldsday bitcoin tails bitcoin сайте bitcoin difficulty monero добыча bitcoin mist ethereum bitcoin symbol bitcoin galaxy bitcoin вебмани bitcoin download bitcoin продам bitcoin make magic bitcoin
bitcoin компания network bitcoin programming bitcoin bitcoin анализ cz bitcoin ethereum прогноз monero пул
elena bitcoin payoneer bitcoin
монет bitcoin new cryptocurrency яндекс bitcoin bitcoin login cryptocurrency price tether майнить
