Source: https://hackernoon.com/bitcoin-august-1-fork-5d8249407f3a
The incredibly significant date is just around the corner but there are still so many unanswered questions!
By the way, I am curator of a weekly newsletter, Unmade, which delivers one idea from the future to your inboxes.
I have put together this guide to walk you through the whole situation to keep you informed about the developments.
As of this writing, it seems like, bitcoin will avoid the chain split — for now. However, even though it seems like the opposing parties have reached a joint conclusion, there’s still a lot that needs to happen to avert the split.
To understand what’s actually happening and why the bitcoin community has split into two, it’s best to take a look at one of the fundamental issues of cryptocurrency — or to be more exact — how people disagree about how to fix that issue.
On one side, there are the people who manage the open sourced software for bitcoin. They are like the organisation/community that keeps the development on the bitcoin protocol running. On the other side are the miners, who deploy computers to run the bitcoin network (blockchain). Both sides are crucial to keep the bitcoin running — one side can’t do it without the other. And to fully understand the issue, you need to understand the mechanics of bitcoin, and that’s why I’ve tried to explain the complete deal with bitcoin chain split in this guide.
What is the problem with bitcoin?
“Death is the solution to all problems. No man — no problem.” — Joseph Stalin
Most people think of bitcoin as a digital currency that you can use to buy and sell things online. That’s technically correct, but that’s not bitcoin’s real value.
Bitcoins aren’t really feasible for everyday transactions, and we’re nowhere near being able to walk into a Starbucks and pay for our coffee in bitcoins. But why is that? Wouldn’t make sense for the makers of bitcoin to implement it as an real alternative to other currency, and thereby increase the value of bitcoin?
Well, the reason that hasn’t happened is that the bitcoin blockchain is slow and expensive. It’s nowhere close to meeting the standards for payment technology as the bitcoin network can process up to six transactions per second, while the VISA network can process over 1600 transactions per second.
The only way the general public will adopt to the decentralized network is if it will be as fast and convenient as existing payment networks. Unless that happens, bitcoin will be used mostly as an instrument to store value.
To be continued. ... visit source