2025-12-31 04:47:48

On August 1, 2017, a community "civil war" erupted from disagreements over technical roadmaps, splitting the Bitcoin blockchain and giving rise to a new cryptocurrency - Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which once had a maximum market capitalization of over $70 billion.

Forks are not just code updates but also embodiments of decentralized community consensus. Whether it's a SegWit soft fork that speeds up transactions or a hard fork that creates new coins, each fork is reshaping the ecosystem and the future of cryptocurrency.
01 The Nature of Forks: The Evolutionary Path of Blockchain
In the world of decentralized cryptocurrencies, no central authority can update the system with a single click. The development of blockchain depends on the collective decision-making of the community, and this upgrade mechanism is called a "fork."
Simply put, a fork is a change to the core protocol or a set of fundamental rules of the blockchain. You can think of it as an upgrade to open-source software.

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GateBlog

2025-12-30 08:19:39

Comprehensive Analysis of Blockchain Forks: How Hard Forks and Soft Forks Shape the Crypto World?

On August 1, 2017, a community "civil war" stemming from disagreements over technical directions split the Bitcoin blockchain into two, giving rise to a new cryptocurrency—Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which at its peak market capitalization exceeded $70 billion.

Forks are not just code updates; they also embody the consensus of decentralized communities. Whether it's the SegWit soft fork that improves transaction speed or the hard fork that creates new coins, each fork is reshaping the ecosystem and future of cryptocurrencies.

01 The Essence of Forks: The Evolution Path of Blockchain

In the decentralized world of crypto, there is no central authority that can update the system with a single click. The evolution of blockchain depends on collective community decisions, and this upgrade mechanism is called a "fork."

Simply put, a fork is a change to the underlying protocol or fundamental rules of the blockchain. You can think of it as an upgrade to open-source software.

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