As Cryptocurrency Prices Recover, “Bitcoin War” May Be Averted

After a rough weekend of historic lows, Bitcoin prices began to recover on Monday, reaching over $2,300, signaling a crisis averted — for now. It's also an optimistic sign that the potential network hard fork may be avoided, with more bitcoin shareholders, miners and developers, warming up to a proposed solution.

Bitcoin prices dropped dramatically beginning Friday and continuing well into the weekend. Economic forecasts had suggested that the most turbulent period in the cryptocoin's history was imminent. It didn't come as a complete surprise, as many were expecting the so-called Bitcoin Civil War to ensue between miners and developers, after a deadlock in deciding what direction the cryptocurrency should take amidst increased blockchain traffic.

 

Miners wanted to increase Bitcoin's block-size limit, while developers have proposed moving data off the main blockchain network, which would diminish the influence miners wield. The scaling solution in question is the Bitcoin Improvement Protocol (BIP) 91, which makes the SegWit2x update and the BIP 148 compatible. Essentially, it would make it easier for the SegWit2x update to be adopted, while at the same time avoiding the split that BIP 148 might cause.

To lock in by July 31, BIP 91 only needs 80 percent miner support — unlike BIP 148, which would require 95 percent. With increased support for BIP 91, the expected July 31 to August 2 bitcoin split could still be averted.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.