10-14-2022, 05:29 PM
TIL: 5 years ago Bitcoin had a controversial software update that was cancelled week
<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p>"Segwit2x" or just 2x, was a plan to increase the block size limit from 1 MB to 2 MB. This was believed to improve Bitcoin's transaction speed and lower transaction fees, making it more usable. It was a hard fork proposition, meaning that it would make old blocks incompatible with the new chain, essentially splitting it into two. Miners and developers argued that without a change like this, competing cryptocurrencies would take over Bitcoin and lead as a digital currency. Other developers and node operators however saw this fork as a corporate takeover and refused the change. 2x was unable to reach a consensus and was not adopted on it's planned date of Nov 16, 2017.</p> <p>Ultimately, 2x wasn't necessary. The goal of SegWit was to increase overall transaction capacity via a <strong><em>soft fork</em></strong> mechanism which would not prompt a split and was already increasing the block size (Block 718,645, mined on Jan 14, 2022, was 1.9MB in size). Segwit2x was a <strong><em>hard fork</em></strong> attempt.</p> <p>What the markets were like at the time it was cancelled: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwKDWhH1re4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwKDWhH1re4</a></p> </div><!-- SC_ON --> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Dazzling_Lime2021"> /u/Dazzling_Lime2021 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/y3bnte/til_5_years_ago_bitcoin_had_a_controversial/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/y3bnte/til_5_years_ago_bitcoin_had_a_controversial/">[comments]</a></span>
<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p>"Segwit2x" or just 2x, was a plan to increase the block size limit from 1 MB to 2 MB. This was believed to improve Bitcoin's transaction speed and lower transaction fees, making it more usable. It was a hard fork proposition, meaning that it would make old blocks incompatible with the new chain, essentially splitting it into two. Miners and developers argued that without a change like this, competing cryptocurrencies would take over Bitcoin and lead as a digital currency. Other developers and node operators however saw this fork as a corporate takeover and refused the change. 2x was unable to reach a consensus and was not adopted on it's planned date of Nov 16, 2017.</p> <p>Ultimately, 2x wasn't necessary. The goal of SegWit was to increase overall transaction capacity via a <strong><em>soft fork</em></strong> mechanism which would not prompt a split and was already increasing the block size (Block 718,645, mined on Jan 14, 2022, was 1.9MB in size). Segwit2x was a <strong><em>hard fork</em></strong> attempt.</p> <p>What the markets were like at the time it was cancelled: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwKDWhH1re4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwKDWhH1re4</a></p> </div><!-- SC_ON --> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Dazzling_Lime2021"> /u/Dazzling_Lime2021 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/y3bnte/til_5_years_ago_bitcoin_had_a_controversial/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/y3bnte/til_5_years_ago_bitcoin_had_a_controversial/">[comments]</a></span>