Has bitcoin cash split succeeded
About bitcoin, the news is flying all over the world these two days
specifically, a foundation called BTN foundation announced that it has set up a bitcoin bifurcated development team to launch a new bitcoin bifurcated BTN. Now its official website is online, which is called btn.kim. Two days later, bitgo, another bitcoin development team, announced that it would fork out from bitcoin. Its name is BTF, which literally means "bitcoin faith"
according to Yao yuan, a well-known bitcoin columnist, bitcoin will "have 10 children" in December, and will at least bifurcate out of 10 "children" such as BCX, SBTC and LBTC
as soon as these things happened, the bitcoin market began to fluctuate again, some investors blew up, and all kinds of rumors came out: why so many forks? Is bitcoin out of order
in fact, the bifurcating of bitcoin is far more complicated than what it shows. If we don't explain its historical background clearly, we really can't understand what happened
< b > the origin of bifurcations: the origin of the bifurcations of bitcoin has existed. The so-called bifurcations refer to the accounting differences caused by different underlying protocols. According to Xue Hongyan, director of the Internet financial center of Suning Financial Research Institute, bitcoin is jointly maintained by a number of point-to-point decentralized nodes. The orderly operation of the whole system depends on the consensus of all nodes, that is, there is a set of recognized standards for key issues such as which transactions are acceptable and which nodes have accounting rights. This set of standards is deployed in the underlying protocol of blockchain and implemented automatically
but nodes are operated by people after all, which is the so-called "miner", but everything operated by people will be different. For example, the miners of some nodes go online every day, while the miners of some nodes go online occasionally; Some nodes are in the eastern hemisphere, some nodes are in the Western Hemisphere... In a word, e to various reasons, over time, bitcoin has different underlying protocols in different nodes
if different versions of underlying protocols are running in a node, different standards will appear, which will result in bifurcation. If the nodes can deal with these version differences and finally form a unified standard, the bifurcation will eventually disappear, which is called soft bifurcation. If the difference cannot be eliminated, when some nodes continue to run different versions of the protocol, the bifurcation will continue, which is called hard bifurcation
it's easy to solve the problem of soft bifurcation, that is, if the account book is wrong, just modify it. Hard bifurcations are not easy to solve. No one thinks he is wrong and explains them according to his own standards. In the end, he can only go his own way and keep his own account. At present, bitcoin bifurcation refers to hard bifurcation
< b > the first bifurcations: the first hard bifurcations of bitcoin technology upgrade are purely technical reasons. The settlement performance of bitcoin itself is limited. According to the original technical agreement, bitcoin can only support up to seven settlements per second. This was not a problem in the early days. With the fire of bitcoin, more and more people flocked in, and the settlement became more frequent than ever. At this time, the original technology was not enough
therefore, in the middle of 2017, some miners proposed new technology agreements, but the other miners did not agree with them. Eventually, both sides held one end and ran their own underlying agreements, which was the first bifurcation in the history of bitcoin
However, with the development of bitcoin trading means, speculators graally regard the bifurcation as a means of money collection, which leads to a great change in the nature of the current bifurcationthe principle is that each bifurcation is essentially equivalent to the issue of a new digital currency, which is linked to bitcoin. The target audience is larger than the general ICO, and it is easier to be accepted by ordinary users than issuing a new digital currency directly
because the team that creates this kind of bifurcation takes the lead, it is very easy to control the transaction of the new currency, especially in the early stage, and it only needs a small cost to control the price trend of the whole currency. This leaves a lot of room for speculation. The forked team only needs to make the new currency accepted by the users, and then it can artificially raise the price to a sky high price. After the real users come in, they can sell all the money they hoard, and get high profits out of thin air
on October 25 this year, a domestic team forked out bitcoin gold (BTG). Two days before the forking, Jiang Zhuoer, CEO of leibitchi, denounced the forking as money looping: "Liao Xiang, founder of BTG, had g 200000 BTG coins in advance before the forking, and wanted to convert them into 20000 bitcoins, looping 80 million yuan."
The advantage of bifurcations can be seen, so that the word "bifurcations create value" has become popular in the field of currency speculation. For this reason, a new word "IFO" - first token issue has been derivedHe Sheng, a well-known financial blogger, once told the media that most of the so-called IFO may evolve into the operation of collecting money by harvesting leeks. "Many previous ICOS are doing IFO, and ICO needs to write a white paper and go to the stock exchange to gain market recognition, while IFO does not even need to write a white paper."
this also explains why bitcoin is becoming more and more profitable. To put it bluntly, everyone wants Nakamoto
Can< b > not bifurcate
whether it's Hong shuning of Suning finance, or Mike & Chen, CEO of bitgo, a bitcoin wallet software provider and one of the project leaders of segwit2x; Mike belshe, the instry actually refuses this bifurcation of bitcoin. In fact, real blockchain practitioners have always hated speculation. At present, the leading enterprises in the domestic blockchain instry have clearly expressed their opposition to the overflow of bitcoin bifurcation. For example, when Xunlei launched the first popular blockchain project in China, its CEO Chen Lei said in an interview: "Xunlei opposes all speculative activities using blockchain, so it is definitely against bitcoin for the purpose of speculation and leek cutting arbitrage."
However, to solve this problem, it is not enough to have an attitude alone, but to have specific means. The best way is not to let bitcoin bifurcatethis is difficult to achieve. Bitcoin's own technology is a relatively primitive blockchain technology with limited computing power. It can barely cope with the previous transaction scale. In view of the current situation of bitcoin fire, it is difficult to support. So sooner or later bitcoin will have to solve the problem of its own computing power
but there is no hope at all. With the innovation of blockchain technology, there will always be some new ways. For example, the shared computing proposed by Xunlei can effectively improve the total amount of computing power and rece the cost per unit of computing power without changing the existing hardware facilities. If bitcoin is combined with shared computing, it can effectively solve the problem of bitcoin's computing power limit without new bifurcation
secondly, the bifurcations for the purpose of cutting Chinese chives can be supervised by means of supervision. For example, compared with the real name system of special currency wallet, the real name system of transactions can effectively prevent the risk of Financial Bureau. At present, the real name system has been implemented in some blockchain projects, and has achieved good results. For example, Xunlei's blockchain is the first blockchain application to introce the real name system in China, which basically eliminates the hidden danger of malicious speculation
in a word, there is a way. It depends on whether bitcoin players accept it or not, and there is a process to implement it. It takes time. Therefore, at this stage, it is better for us to stay away from the bifurcations of bitcoin in various names
as we all know, there are two common types of bitcoin wallets:
first, the network version, which does not need to be downloaded by users, can directly access the wallet platform through a computer or mobile phone, and use bitcoin wallets
Second, the stand-alone version, which needs to be downloaded from the computer (or the lower end of the mobile phone) and installed before it can be used
in addition, there is a bitcoin wallet (Hard Wallet) similar to U disk
as a bitcoin wallet service platform, coin pack thinks that whether the bitcoin in the wallet will generate new tokens after bifurcation mainly depends on whether the wallet supports bitcoin bifurcation
as a bitcoin wallet, whether it is a network version, a stand-alone version or a hard wallet, it is necessary to compare the bifurcated support of bitcoin before a new token can be generated; Whether there is a new token proct depends on the users
users can also consult the customer service of the wallet to learn about the bifurcations of bitcoin.
BCC does not meet the definition of bitcoin network bifurcation. BTC and BCC are two completely different chains in two days. As like as two peas, the whole network as like as two peas, which can not be synchronized in one chain, has two pieces of block chain network with identical bitcoins. Two networks have a large number of miners digging, and transactions on two different networks can not be synchronized. This leads to two even the same difficulty of two parallel chains, which is called forking.
BCC has also been identified by bitcoin international Roundtable forum as a competitive currency that replicates bitcoin blockchain and modifies some codes. Therefore, it is a wrong interpretation that BCC is the network fork of bitcoin.
bitcoin cash is affected by the tightening of domestic policies, and its price will continue to be low, especially the two sessions and G20 summit in March, which will have a huge impact on bitcoin cash. If the policies are good, bitcoin cash will return to the high point, if the policies are bad, it will continue to shake the market.
of course, bitcoin cash has been forked once. The forked currency can be traded on microbit, and the price has plummeted a lot, which is basically negligible. This is also the case with most of the forked currencies
bitcoin cash has removed isolation verification, and currently supports 8m, which has great advantages in stability and handling charges.
BCC, as a new type of blockchain asset generated by hard bifurcations of bitcoin, has a reason for its success
BCC maintains the goal of global point-to-point cash of zhongbencong
the proposal of BCC is not out of thin air, but to better realize the goal of "point-to-point encrypted e-cash system" described in the white paper of zhongbencong. For bitcoin, "Genesis block" is a pioneer. So no matter which fork you look at, whether it's bitcash, segwit2x or bitcoin core - there's one thing in common. They're all from the genesis block on January 3, 2009. Bitcash (BCC) maintains the goal of global point-to-point cash of zhongbencong, while the isolation witness plan turns bitcoin blockchain into settlement layer. On the second layer, lightning network center and other settlement schemes in the second layer will provide charging services to complete transactions faster
therefore, compared with most competitors, no matter which chain they are in, most of the coins have been g out, and there are only a few left. This creates the scarcity of digital currency, which creates value. The EDA (emergency difficulty adjustment rule) of bitcoin cash is also a very important step to ensure the survival of the coin envisaged by Nakamoto
no congestion and low handling charge are the key to the success of BCC
for the original bitcoin chain, the biggest problem now is transaction congestion and high handling charge. But these problems don't exist for bitcash. Because BCC removed segwit and removed the block size limit of 1m, there is no block size limit problem. This means that the use of bitcoin cash will not lead to transaction accumulation, so transaction fees will be lower. Compared with the average transaction fee of bitcoin original chain at $10, BCC costs only a few cents or less. With the advantages of transaction costs highlighted, many online enterprises and business accounts will join the BCC ecosystem to create a better payment system
BCC is the choice of the market and users
the success of BCC depends on the support of the market and users. No matter how good the proct is, it will be worthless if it leaves the users and the market.. Although BCC has changed the original intention of bitcoin technology, it is a new technology attempt, there are still many uncertainties in the future, but the emergence of BCC has also solved many problems. BCC has achieved rapid expansion through hard bifurcation, which solves the problem of transaction congestion of bitcoin for a long time. The large block owned by BCC can make the transaction faster and cheaper, which can truly realize the "point-to-point encrypted e-cash system" mentioned in the bitcoin white paper. This is unmatched by bitcoin in the short term. In order to solve the problem of bitcoin network congestion, the community has been arguing about it for a long time, but there is no good solution to put it into practice. The emergence of BCC makes this problem not only stay in controversy and theory, but also find a better solution through practice. As for how BCC will develop in the future, it still needs time and market to witness.
section one: why do you split up when you don't say a word
the concept of bifurcation originated from bitcoin
as we know, bitcoin trading is based on bitcoin blockchain network (one block by one forms a chain of front and back Association, forming a bitcoin blockchain network). Since a block is a block, it must have capacity (let's fill in the block, it is nothing more than a collection of codes), The size of the block capacity will limit the efficiency of the transaction. If the block capacity is too small, the smaller the number of transactions will be. Once the transaction volume is too large, it will cause congestion
the capacity of bitcoin block is only 1m, and it can hold only 5-7 transactions. In the past, there were relatively few users for bitcoin transactions, so this capacity is no problem. However, with the rise of bitcoin price, more and more users swarmed in, and the bitcoin block could not accommodate so many transactions, resulting in congestion
bitcoin is anxious: slow down, brother Dei, I can't keep up with your trading speed. Hello! Users are also anxious: brother, can you hurry up
this is a big problem, not only because we have limited patience, but also because bitcoin's positioning is currency. As a currency, you should pay and collect money quickly, accurately and ruthlessly. If you are always so slow, when can you realize the currency attribute? So, this is a big problem
of course, the bitcoin community knows the importance of this problem. As for how to solve this problem, the bitcoin community is divided on whether to expand the capacity of bitcoin blocks (as we have just said, it is too little capacity of bitcoin blocks that leads to slow transaction speed and congestion)
the controversy is mainly divided into two camps:
the original development team of bitcoin, led by core, believes that bitcoin is an electronic gold of value storage, which will destroy its core once it is expanded
however, the mining team led by Wu Jihan believes that bitcoin should be a kind of currency with rapid circulation in the future, and it needs to be expanded to solve the problem of transaction congestion. Because of the decentralized nature of the blockchain, no indivial or organization can decide how to "expand" the bitcoin system. Everyone has their own opinions, and their opinions are divided. No one is willing to give in. Therefore, everyone goes their own way. The bitcoin chain has split into BTC and BCH chains, and over time it has evolved into the so-called "bifurcation"
this is the origin of bifurcation
what happens after the second section bifurcates
for blockchain, bifurcation is the change of blockchain protocol, which is similar to upgrading the blockchain to make up for the shortcomings of the system. This is just like our current mobile phone software often prompts you to upgrade
however, we know that blockchain is decentralized. Unlike your mobile software, developers can upgrade when they say so. In the world of blockchain, any modification needs the consensus of all members. No one can decide when to change or how to change the underlying agreement of blockchain
therefore, when the original development team of bitcoin and the miner team have differences, the system will be divided into two parts, and two new systems based on the original blockchain will appear. Everyone has their own problems, and no one can intervene. In this way, the bitcoin system is divided into two chains: BTC and BCH, which are called "bifurcations", and BCH is called bifurcated currency (the bifurcated currency of bitcoin)
in fact, not only BCH, but also bitcoin has many bifurcated coins. Why is BCH the first thing to think of when it comes to bifurcated currencies? This is because BCH is a successful bifurcated currency. When its market value is the highest, it ranks the fourth in the list of cryptocurrencies, next only to bitcoin, Ethereum and EOS
section 3 hard fork and soft fork
let's make a metaphor: if bitcoin system is the trunk of a big tree, then BCH and other fork coins are the branches of the tree. However, bifurcation is not as simple as this metaphor. It can be divided into hard bifurcation and soft bifurcation
first, hard bifurcation: goodbye, never see again
the BCH we mentioned above belongs to hard bifurcation. Hard bifurcation means that nodes using old software can no longer verify blocks proced with new software nodes. If you want to verify, you can only upgrade. After upgrading, it is equivalent to changing the track and running on another new system. Just like BCH to BTC, BCH is a brand new track (a brand new chain), and the coin on this chain is BCH (bitcoin cash). Then, nodes using BCH system can no longer go to BTC network for transaction verification. Hard bifurcations, generally speaking, mean going their own way. There is no intersection any more< Second, soft bifurcation: getting better to meet again
soft bifurcation is opposite to hard bifurcation. Soft bifurcation means that nodes using the old version can verify the blocks proced by nodes using the new version, and nodes using the new version can also verify the blocks proced by nodes using the old version. The two versions are compatible
the way bitcoin upgraded its isolation witness in 2017 is soft bifurcation. In the whole process, it doesn't matter whether we use the old version or the new version, because they are compatible. The new version only solves some problems better. In essence, we are still running on the bitcoin chain, and there is no new coin
to sum up, the difference between soft fork and hard fork is whether nodes using old software can be compatible with nodes using new software. Compatibility is soft fork, while incompatibility is hard fork.
bitcoin cash is the proct of the three-year battle for bitcoin expansion. The main supporters and promoters of bitcoin cash are supporters and developers of large blocks
bitcoin cash is not a kind of bifurcated currency, and bitcoin cash does not meet the definition of bifurcated currency. Bitcoin cash and bitcoin are two different blockchains.