Bitcoin enthusiasts have been having some heated moments recently, as the cryptocurrency community is involved in a controversy that has caused some to question whether Bitcoin is a viable currency.
A fork in cryptocurrencies is a split in the blockchain, usually because of a difference in programming or consensus. It is similar to a fork in a river, where two rivers meet and flow in different directions. For example, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are separate cryptocurrencies when a fork happens in the Bitcoin blockchain. Users decide which version they want by trading on the open market.
Here Is the List of Different Bitcoin Fork:
Bitcoin Unlimited
Bitcoin Unlimited is its third fork in as many years. Its developers are unhappy with the way the software of Bitcoin works and have forked the code. The fork is a response to the rising popularity of Bitcoin’s rival, Bitcoin Cash, which copied the core software code from Bitcoin, then created another version of it, called Bitcoin Cash, with faster transaction speeds. The developers of Bitcoin Unlimited disagree with this and want the code to work as it intended to. And they think there are enough supporters to make Bitcoin Unlimited a success. But others are not so sure, and Bitcoin’s core developers are fighting to keep Bitcoin the way it is.
Bitcoin XT
Bitcoin XT is the software client for the Bitcoin network. It was created in response to growing frustration with the Bitcoin Core development group, which oversees the Bitcoin protocol and fixes bugs in the software. The Bitcoin XT client creates blocks differently from Bitcoin Core, and the blockchain on the Bitcoin XT network is different than Bitcoin Core’s blockchain. The Bitcoin XT client has support from 50% of the Bitcoin network, and Bitcoin XT supporters are adamant about changing the block size limit.
Bitcoin Classic
Bitcoin Classic is a Bitcoin hard fork proposal that intends to maintain the original vision of Satoshi Nakamoto. The genesis block of the digital currency was created on January 3rd, 2009, and Satoshi Nakamoto published the paper “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” on January 31st, 2008. The Bitcoin network operates using proof-of-work consensus, which limits the computing resources of a single entity by forcing it to compete numerically with other miners on the Bitcoin network to solve increasingly complicated algorithmic puzzles, known as hash puzzles. Bitcoin Classic changes proof-of-work to proof-of-work-hashcash.
Segregated Witness
The Bitcoin scaling debate has raged on since 2015. And after a somewhat slow start, the Segwit2x effort launched in 2017. Segregated Witness (SegWit) allows transactions to be divided into two larger pieces—the “witness” that’s used for signature generation and the “payload” to transfer the money. The SegWit2x effort will enable SegWit, to increase the size of the blocks, delay the difficulty adjustment, or block reward halving until 2020. It will provide more time for the network to adjust to higher transaction volume but will not increase the overall limit on the number of transactions.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash is the newest alternative to Bitcoin. Bitcoin itself, since it was introduced, it’s been rapidly growing ever since. But some say that Bitcoin doesn’t have enough security or that it’s a little too centralized. So, people created Bitcoin Cash, which they say is a more secure version of Bitcoin. Bitcoin cash (BCC) is a fork of bitcoin. It was created after disagreements within the community led to the split. BCC carries the same attributes and benefits as bitcoin, including decentralization and additional features. The goal of BCC is to increase transaction speed and scale.
Bitcoin Gold
Bitcoin Gold, as its name suggests, is a cryptocurrency created in 2017. It was forked off of the original Bitcoin blockchain and shared most of its history, coins, and transactions. While the forks often result in price fluctuations of bitcoin, there hasn’t been much of a boost in the value of bitcoin gold, and it’s still trading at a relatively low value.
Bitcoin typically comes under attack for being ‘centralized’ and thus ‘risky.’ However, it is far from centralized, with transactions validated by the Bitcoin network (instead of central authority). Bitcoin forks are separate Bitcoin networks, not new versions of Bitcoin itself. They are functionally similar to Bitcoin forks. However, one important difference is that Bitcoin forks have a name, whereas Bitcoin networks do not.
