At one point, all cryptocurrencies need to experience a major change in how they work. That is where hard forks and soft fork appear. These are the updates of the protocol that greatly adjust the system operation.
In this article, blockchain hard forks and soft forks, the reasons for necessary, and the most important thing is how they differ from each other.
What is a blockchain hard fork?
The hard fork on the blockchain is the fundamental change in the blockchain network protocol. Simply put, this is a software upgrade on the cryptocurrency network that all nodes need to agree.
If the hard fork has room for controversy, that is, not all mining workers comply with the new rules set in the network, but may have a chain split, and one legacy blockchain. Both the upgraded blockchain that functions with each other may occur as the miner in the club continues. Dine the “old” chain. For example, this is for Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in August 2017.
What is a blockchain soft fork?
The blockchain soft fork is to change the software protocol of the cryptocurrency that is in reverse compatible with the previous version of the protocol. In other words, soft fork is a change in cryptocurrencies that all users do not need to upgrade to a new version of the protocol.
You can use a soft fork to add a new function to the cryptocurrency or reversing the transaction (like a blockchain reorganization). In the work system demonstration, when the majority of mining workers (hash power) upgrade to new software, the soft fork ends and the blockchain returns to a single joint chain.
Hard fork and blockchain soft fork: Difference in key
So what is the bottom line? Hard fork and soft fork are a way to update the blockchain, but we proceed in another way.
The blockchain hard fork is like starting a new chapter in a book that has completely changed plots and cannot return to an old story. It creates a permanent split and often brings two separate blockchains. One is for those who accept new rules and those who stick to the old rules.
On the other hand, a blockchain soft fork is like editing a chapter to edit the chapter without changing the entire story. It is backward compatibility. In other words, those who do not upgrade still can still continue (but their experience may be a bit clunky). It is not so destructive, it does not lead to a split, it is a “calm” approach.
In short, a hard fork is a major fundamental change that requires everyone on board or on a separate path. However, soft fork is a small fine adjustment aimed at bringing improvement without breaking the flow.
Why does a fork occur in the blockchain?
First, forks can be caused by the decision of the community to upgrade the developer and the network. This decision is usually a planned event and does not characterize competition due to its pre -placed properties. This type of fork is performed to introduce a function to enhance the cryptocurrency project. However, since all participants in the network agree, it will not form a new cryptocurrency.
Second, a folk may occur as a result of differences in opinions in the cryptocurrency community. Some members may try to change coins or token protocols, but not the other members. If the community cannot reach a compromise and subsequent agreements, the hard fork continues to continue the chains. This forms a completely new blockchain with a new native cryptocurrency.
Third, you can start a fork as a way to disable certain events, sometimes called rescue hard forks. This occurs when unwanted events such as wide hacking and theft affect the token community. In this scenario, developers can decide to folk the ledger to help the stolen tokens useful to work with most of the communities. This will return the funds to the affected members.
Finally, the only intention of creating a new coin may cause hard fork. Most projects in the Crypto community are operating on an open source, so you can create a new token by displaying and using the code. The new token may have a similar point to a friendly ledger, but has a clear function that usually regards as an upgrade required for developers. New tokens often try to distinguish between parents’ coins and their names and branding.
Examples of hard fork and soft fork
An excellent example of hard fork is the creation of BCH. The folk supporters wanted to increase the block size of Bitcoin Network from 1MB to 8MB. They believed that this would help you deal with the scalability issues facing Bitcoin. This is because the ledger can handle more transactions per block. In addition, this upgrade reduces the charges charged for each transaction. Since the bitcoin community could not agree to this issue, the supporters of the “larger block” began changing the software and the bitcoin ledger was divided to form a BCH.
An example of a soft fork is the Segwit update implemented by Bitcoin in 2017. This update is designed to improve bitcoin scalability while dealing with transaction adaptability.
The advantages and issues of hard fork and soft fork
Generally speaking, a folk occurs when there are differences in opinions between the developers of the cryptocurrency project, about how the project should go. This often can lead to a community division, some people support new folks, and others remain in the old chains.
If the fork is successful, you can bring many new precautions and investments to the project. A new start to the community can help solve existing projects. However, forks are also very dangerous. If they are not executed correctly, it may lead to the complete collapse of the project.