Soft Fork and Hard Fork Cryptocurrencies

Many of us have probably heard of such a concept as a hard fork. The most famous example is the emergence of a new branch of Bitcoin — Bitcoin Gold. However, many people have questions: fork — what it is, how it concerns ordinary miners and what it may bring in the future.

What is a Fork

A Fork is a change in program code that not only changes the structure of a block but also makes it possible to use blocks that were previously unavailable. These changes are made to expedite transactions and solve other issues.

You can’t do without Forks. If this is not done, then many malfunctions will appear in the system, it will freeze and a whole bunch of problems will appear that no one needs. Another thing is how to carry out these changes. Today, there are 2 types: soft fork and a hard fork.

• A Soft Fork is a soft change, in which there is a rollback to several blocks, where the code changes. In this case, the user does not observe any fundamental changes.
• Hard Fork — a fundamental change in the operation of algorithms and the code itself. Most often, new technologies are introduced that lead to a split in the blockchain and the creation of a new cryptocurrency.