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- Trying to bring consensus between two of the largest cryptocurrency ecosystems
- Finding common ground between diverging technologies
The Ethereum Hard Fork, which is also known as EIP 1559, took place on Aug 5. The hard fork has ignited a considerable debate about how to bring about a change in any ecosystem. Hard forks, soft forks, and the best methods – most foolproof, least polarizing have all been discussed and the pros and cons debated by experts.
Consensus can be reached across two of the largest cryptocurrency ecosystems.
Adam B. Levine, Jonathan Mohan, and Andreas M. Antonopoulos are discussing the various aspects of the London hard fork. The trio discusses how a consensus can be reached across two of the largest cryptocurrency ecosystems. The discussion was focused upon the divergence in technology and its underlying philosophy. During the debate, it was revealed that some solutions are more enticing to Ethereum and others to Bitcoin.
Ethereum-coaxing users towards the upgraded version
Ethereum has maintained what is known as the “difficulty bomb,” With every upgrade, the fuse gets a bit longer. If it goes off, miners will face a spate of challenges, would face exponentially harder work and proportionally diminished rewards, forcing them to switch from the pre-fork chain to the upgraded one.
Bitcoin is also trying to do something similar with its User Activated Soft Fork (UASF). The User Activated Soft Fork (UASF) accomplishes the same thing by other means. A User Activated Soft Fork (UASF) is a synchronized activation of a Bitcoin soft fork on a specified date and enforced by a supermajority of full nodes rather than relying on miners alone. To succeed, participating nodes must garner the so-called “economic majority” – users, exchanges, and businesses with significant influence over the Bitcoin economy. Therefore a UASF requires developer, industry, and user coordination. In the past, a UASF was successfully carried out to activate the P2SH soft fork (aka BIP16). On Feb 25, 2017, a pseudonymous contributor named Shaolin Fry proposed that UASF start Segregated Witness and later published details in BIP148.
However, many feel that these mechanisms are nothing but the proverbial ‘Chekhov’s Gun,’ inevitably to be used in some later act, or simply empty threats to coerce miners into compliance?
For answers, tune in to this episode of “Speaking of Bitcoin” for an in-depth explainer of how widespread change occurs across decentralized networks and what changes might be in store for the future.
The episode has Adam B. Levine, Andreas M. Antonopoulos, and Jonathan Mohan. Jonas edited it. The theme song comes courtesy of Jared Rubens, and todays music during the break was Sloth Beats by Gerty Beats. Today’s album art features a photo by Anita Jankovic/Unsplash, modified by Speaking of Bitcoin.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
