Published
6 years ago on
October 28, 2017
The latest news around the most popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin is its proposed split in two when block 491,407 is reached. A decision to take this hard fork with Bitcoin has been reached by those within the industry who have become concerned with how involved major corporations have become with standard Bitcoin. This follows on from the last Bitcoin split, which created Bitcoin cash. What is a hard fork and why is it needed? When the cryptocurrency sector refers to a hard fork, it is talking about significant changes to a digital currency's underlying code that results in changes such as the creation of new currencies. This is the case for Bitcoin in this latest move, which will see Bitcoin Gold created. There is a feeling in the Bitcoin world that the rise in this currency's popularity has attracted big businesses, who have begun to mine and stockpile huge amounts. Many feel that this is in direct opposition with the actual ethos behind Bitcoin and also gives the major players too much control over the network. Industry support appears to be there The developers behind this latest Bitcoin project have confirmed that up to 20 exchanges and coin wallets have given their approval for this split. One worrying absence is the largest player in the exchange market, Coinbase. It should be remembered though that they are traditionally cautious when hard forks are seen. Although worried about the lack of code being publicly released before the update is made, they may change their stance in the future if it turns out to be a success. For any Bitcoin investors or miners, it may be a great financial move for them as they will receive one Bitcoin Gold token to one Bitcoin token they already have. Obviously, this could mean anyone with Bitcoin investments currently will see their bank balance shoot up with the additional Bitcoin Gold they will receive.
