The Bitcoin community is in splits with forking

BTC is exchanging hands at $52,312.71 at the time of drafting this article. There is every possible chance that Bitcoin may inch closer to its ATH by the end of this year. It has risen from the ashes of $20,000 in less than a year. With BTC gaining pace for a surge, it raises the question of whether any pivotal change or modification is needed at the moment.

One of the modifications that is making the rounds within the Bitcoin community pertains to forking. That is a concept where a new branch or version of a blockchain is created in space. It is ideally done when there are disagreements, or the network is experiencing transaction congestion. Also, there could simply be a mutual agreement to chase forks and enhance the overall performance.

Forks are of two types in the crypto space – Soft Fork and Hark Fork.

The community often accepts Soft Forks, which are backward-compatible upgrades. Hard forks are completely the opposite; they are rarely accepted by the community and reflect non-backward compatible changes.

While soft forks go down easily, hard forks have difficulty gaining acceptance. This is because forking triggers community debates splits in network support, and market uncertainties.

Understanding Bitcoin

Bitcoin was reportedly launched on January 3, 2009. A creator with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto is credited with its introduction. Ideally, Bitcoin is identified with features like limited supply, a proof-of-work mechanism, and immutability.

Most importantly, Bitcoin is identified as a cryptocurrency that has set the track for other digital currencies to follow. Ethereum is one of these, and then there are a few other names on the list, like Solana and Polygon. Cryptos are making advancements rapidly, especially with the approval of 11 Spot Bitcoin ETF applications effective January 10, 2024, according to orders by the US SEC.

Bitcoin is currently targeting the milestone of $100,000 for BTC. It could be landed at the ports by the end of next year.

Bitcoin’s Rivals

Some of Bitcoin’s rivals include Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. The one to remain notable is Bitcoin Cash. Notably, it came into existence when Bitcoin underwent forking in 2017. The process was met with debates, and a way to settle the arguments was the introduction of a new token. BCH, even though down by 0.44% in the last 24 hours, is listed at $267.12, which is an increase of 14.03% in the last 30 days.

Ethereum is the closest to having come into direct competition with Bitcoin. Its native token, ETH, is hailing a strength of $2,934, with a surge of 0.79% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum has been widely praised for its environment-centric approach and broader utility. It could soon get a boost with the Spot Ether ETF, likely to come out in the middle of this year.

There was a time when Bitcoin tracked down the tag of being a store of value or an alternative to Gold. It continues to host that tag, except more utilities are on the horizon. As for the community, Ethereum and other cryptos hold stronger ground than Bitcoin.

The Forking Debate

Forking and halving are different from each other. Halving refers to cutting down on rewards for mining the token, thereby reducing its supply and increasing the trading value. Forking relates more to bringing a new branch or a version of the blockchain. However, both can affect how original tokens are traded for a while.

Disagreements enter the picture when the community is unable to relate the proposal to improvements or changes. Meaning, it must serve the purpose to ensure that it is to the advantage of the blockchain. As for Bitcoin forking, enthusiasts are pitching that roll-ups could serve a better purpose than the hostile fork of Bitcoin. This is based on the grounds that the economic value would come down significantly.

Miners, investors, and developers alternatively see this as an opportunity to explore the change, embrace it, and let it grow around Bitcoin Halving. There is no concrete conclusion for the argument as of now, but the strength is in favor of sustaining the current momentum of BTC.

Conclusion

Forking Bitcoin is not necessarily bad. It is not necessarily good, either. All eyes are on how the official pitch comes out for the vote. Forking could bring another BCH-like token to the market, settling the argument once and for all.