Bitcoin As the foremost cryptocurrency globally, it's not only the pioneer in digital currency but also the foundation for countless cryptos that have followed in its path. Since its seminal white paper in 2008 and its 2009 debut, it has consistently been the top dog in the cryptocurrency space. This remarkable stability has paved the way for today's crypto growth, inspiring many to emulate its success. Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin's significant achievements have drawn a massive community of enthusiasts and developers. This large following sometimes finds itself divided in opinion, leading to inevitable disputes which need resolution.
When tensions and disagreements surface within the Bitcoin sphere, forks often serve as the solution. These network splits are not a new phenomenon, as both past and future forks are entirely anticipated events in Bitcoin's timeline.
Forks in blockchain networks arise when there's a necessity to overhaul or tweak the network's operational protocols. Typically, these are classified into two categories: soft forks and hard forks.
A soft fork entails modest updates where only previously valid blocks or transactions become invalid, maintaining the network's unity. Conversely, a hard fork is more drastic, rectifying which blocks or transactions are permissible and resulting in a branched-out network forging an entirely new blockchain.
Popular Bitcoin Forks
Bitcoin knows its fair share of forks, especially astonishing since 2017. While some remained obscure, others gained noteworthy traction. Numerous forks claim to rectify perceived deficiencies in Bitcoin's initial framework, addressing concerns like transaction speed, scalability issues, protracted confirmation times, and centralized mining operations. Some assert these hard forks were anchored in robust technical and philosophical convictions, though lately, others view them as profit-driven ventures. Here's a breakdown of well-known Bitcoin forks.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Cash This initiative aimed to bolster transaction capacity on Bitcoin's blockchain, emerging from a hard fork occurring on August 1, 2017, starting at block height 478559, leading to a bifurcation splitting the blockchain from that block onward. Bitcoin blockchain to split Bitcoin Cash mirrors Bitcoin but boasts greater speed, owing to an enlarged block size. The cryptocurrency has been mired in controversy thanks to Roger Ver, its advocate, known for manipulating new adopters into thinking BCH equals Bitcoin using the platform bitcoin.com that he owns. Critics argue that BCH favors large-scale miners like Jihan Wu due to bigger block size increasing mining difficulty for average users while easing it for giants like Bitmain. This cryptocurrency is a digital offshoot of Bitcoin resulting from a hard fork on October 24, 2017, at block height 491407. Bitcoin Gold was intended to revert to Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos, offering ordinary users a fair playing field.
Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
Bitcoin Gold Its goal is to counteract the growing centralization within Bitcoin mining that underpins transactions. This development tackles one of Bitcoin's prevalent shortcomings. th The primary rationale for this fork was to restore mining feasibility using standard Graphics Processing Units (GPU) instead of the specialized ASICs employed for Bitcoin. Bitcoin Gold sets itself apart by using the memory-intensive equihash as its proof-of-work algorithm rather than the SHA-256, though it adheres to Bitcoin Core standards. However, Bitmain has recently launched new ASICs capable of mining Bitcoin Gold. mine the new digital currency Forked from the Bitcoin blockchain at block height 495866, Bitcoin Diamond aims to iron out issues like privacy absence, prolonged transaction approvals, and high barriers to entry. Known participants include Team Evey and Team 007, but the altcoin faces limited wallet compatibility, relying heavily on BitPie. It employs legacy signature for non-SegWit dealings and BIP143 for SegWit ones, catching differences from BTG and BCH. . Introducing a hard fork at block height 498888 on December 12, 2017, exchanges like OKEx, Huobi Pro, Coinut, CEX.com, BigONE, and others reportedly backed this fork. Super Bitcoin proposes a limited supply pegged at 21,210,000 SBTC somewhat exceeding Bitcoin's 21 million coins. Surplus coins underwent pre-mining under the stewardship of the Super Bitcoin Foundation destined for early developers and sustainability. Noteworthy characteristics encompass support for smart contracts, embedded privacy safeguards, scalability solutions, and larger block capacity (up to 8MB). Original Bitcoin holders receive 1 SBTC for every BTC in possession. released Antminer Z9 This fork unfolded from the Bitcoin blockchain at block height 498888. It features DPOS concensus, bolstering reliability, user-friendliness, and eco-friendliness. The ideal underlying network could reserve itself for societies of the future by providing immense scalability and robust privacy through zero-knowledge proof.
Bitcoin Diamond (BCD)
On the 24 th of November, 2017, Bitcoin Diamond The proliferation of Bitcoin forks is steadily rising, seeming to promulgate a new crypto craze for developers and miners alike. Now marked as the 'Initial Fork Offering,' the brisk advent of multiple Bitcoin forks requires ample community backing that purportedly enhances Bitcoin. This process eventually lays the groundwork for a Bitcoin-derived blockchain alongside a new Bitcoin-related currency.
Super Bitcoin (SBTC)
Super Bitcoin The fork influx isn't baseless. The uninterrupted expansion of Bitcoin’s community encompasses diverse economic, political, and philosophical perspectives, catalyzing disagreements. Enhancements, alterations, and adjustments are necessitated by Bitcoin’s continuous blockchain evolution, sometimes embraced, sometimes criticized.
BitcoinX (BCX)
The BitcoinX Another factor behind the surging popularity of Bitcoin forks is the potential of earning complimentary coins. Certain forks provide equivalent tokens to Bitcoin holdings through BCH tokens. Essentially, for every Bitcoin held by a Bitcoin Cash adopter, an equivalent BCH value is issued on a 1-to-1 basis. This method sparks fear over potential exploitation by miners and developers who might accumulate substantial token reserves and subsequently abandon them for profit.
Bitcoin Forks Becoming the New ICO
The swell of Bitcoin forks and the ongoing mania around them shows no signs of relenting as more forks are slated throughout 2018. If the emergent cryptocurrency history imparts any lesson, it’s that many follow trends without rigorous scrutiny. While some fraudulent forks might surface, Bitcoin Cash remains a testament to how forks can succeed if carried out judiciously. Yet, the ultimate viability of these forks hangs in the balance, pending further observation to determine if they become key players in the crypto market or fade into oblivion.
Priyeshu Garg, a software engineer at a unicorn company, dedicates his downtime to writing blockchain articles and trading in cryptocurrencies.
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