technologybeginner

hard fork

Definition

A hard fork changes Bitcoin’s rules so that new blocks are incompatible with older software. Nodes that don’t upgrade end up on a separate chain. This is how alternative cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash were created.

Example

Bitcoin Cash was created through a hard fork on August 1, 2017, when big blockers split from the main Bitcoin chain.

Related Terms

soft fork

A backward-compatible upgrade to Bitcoin's rules that tightens existing constraints without breaking older software.

Node

A computer that stores a full copy of the Bitcoin blockchain and helps verify transactions and blocks.

Block

A bundle of Bitcoin transactions that are verified and permanently added to the blockchain together, roughly every ten minutes.

Blockchain

A public, distributed ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions in chronological order.

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