The dreaded August 1 bitcoin chain split is not likely it seems, with the activation of the Bitcoin Core development team’s transaction malleability fix and scaling solution in sight.
In a statement, Blockstream chief strategy officer Samson Mow revealed:
“New SegWit activation period starts July 28. SW should lock-in on Aug 11. SegWit active after 2 week grace period on Aug 25. Risk of split low. BIP 91 is essentially enforcing BIP148 ahead of schedule, so Aug 1 should be uneventful. I recommend 148 nodes should keep enforcing though. There's a chance a pool can stop signalling but at this point it's unlikely. Far more likely we'll see a mainnet Lightning transaction before Sept.”
The market’s optimistic and positive response to the activation of SegWit has been quite evident, considering the recent performance of bitcoin price and its upward momentum. Since SegWit via BIP 91 and BIP 141 (original SegWit proposal) was finalized, bitcoin price increased from $1,850 to $2,720.