1.What is a Fork? (In your own Words)
That’s to say when their is a change in the a blockchain protocol , a fork is formed .
When the Blockchains are upgraded to be able to accommodate the growing human expectancies, these upgrades are in form of a fork since there will be change in the blockchain protocol.
The code of the fork on a blockchain is open-source to everyone therefore it can occur anywhere at any time.
2.Explain in details what a Hard Fork is with examples (Can be of any blockchain).
A hard fork refers to the breaking of a blockchain into two different chains.
In the hard forks, the nodes that update to the new protocol consider blocks from the previous chain as invalid, and also the old nodes consider new blocks as invalid.
The hard forks are about upgrading the blockchain therefore users' software should always be upgraded to take part in the hard forks blockchain.
In hard forks, the new blockchain breaks or splits from the old blockchain meaning that two blocks are being formed after the blockchain has split that’s to say that there will be a new blockchain and an old blockchain both having their software change in the blockchain protocol.
- One of the examples of the hard fork is the Bitcoin cash. This cash split from its original bitcoin blockchain having its currency known as BCH
The nodes that accepted the new protocol in the blockchain upgraded to Bitcoin cash.
The nodes couldn’t validate Bitcoin transactions because they didn’t recognize the blockchain rules.
- Explain in detail what a Soft Fork is with examples (Can be of any blockchain).
Examples of a soft fork include:
A user-activated soft fork(UASF) It’s a user-driven activity that changes the use of cryptocurrency in a way that does not split the network.
In a soft fork, there is no need for the nodes to upgrade to the new protocol network unlike a hard fork that requires upgrades for the new protocol to operate on the network
Another example of a soft fork is the segregated witness which was put into practice in 2017 which helped in reducing the size of a bitcoin transaction by changing the format of the transactions which increased the number of transactions a block can contain .
- What are the differences between Hard Forks and soft forks
| Hard forks | Soft forks |
|---|---|
| creates new projects | improves on the already existing projects |
| involves splitting from the old blockchain to the new blockchain | does not involve any splitting from the old blockchain |
| requires separation from the original blockchain forming a new block | there is no separation of the original block hence it remains the same. |
| --------- | ---------- |
| is backward incompatible | is backward compatible. |
| their is new currency created | their is no new currency created. |
| --------- | ---------- |
| there is a complete split of the blockchain | there is no complete split of the blocks because the block remains the same |
- Explain the following Bitcoin Forks and explore the blockchain where necessary. Indicate if they are hard forks or soft forks;
Bitcoin Cash
Differences between bitcoin cash and bitcoin
| Bitcoin cash | Bitcoin |
|---|---|
| The bitcoin cash transactions are very cheaper for participants to operate in the system | Bitcoin transactions are expensive for the participants. |
| The Bitcoin cash is efficient | the bitcoin is inefficient |
| --------- | ---------- |
| is very fast in making transactions hence taking less time for transactions to occur | is very slow in performing transactions hence taking a long time or process for transactions to take place. |
| is less known by people in the world | is very popular in the world. |
| --------- | ---------- |
| transaction charges are very low | transactions charges are very high. |
Segregated Witnesses
- Segregated witness was put in action in 2017 to decrease the size of bitcoin transactions by changing their format.
Segregated witness is also referred to as the Segwit. The segregated witness is a soft fork in bitcoin because it decreases the size of bitcoin transactions. The segregated witness in their blockchain, the network is very fast and reduced the size of transactions through the help of signatures which act as the transactions witness.
That's to say, peace will send money to Doreen but before the money reaches Doreen who is the receiver, it will pass through a transaction that requires a signature which will show that the transaction was witnessed.
6.Write on the Steem and Hive Hard fork and show similarities in their Genesis Blocks(Provide screenshots).
Hive is just like Steem, Hive is a decentralized network system.
The hive blog has currencies such as HBD also known as the Hive Backed Dollars, Hive, Hive power, and the hive platform uses these currencies to award its participants just like Steemit. Therefore hive is a hard fork of Steemit.
The similarities between the hive and Steemit platform are as follows
Both reward their participants.
Both have the same introduction page immediately when you open them.
Both have witness signatures.
Both have the same posting key.
Both have the same signing key.
Both have the same block ID.
The Genesis Block of steem
The Genesis Block of hive
In conclusion, The Genesis Block of hive and steemit is the same with the same features