Author Topic: Soft Fork vs. Hard Fork (Read 511215 times)

bitcoinforum.com · « **on:** January 31, 2018, 01:12:07 PM »

A good question asked by OratesFratres and a very good repply by asaltandbuttering on r/bitcoinforum

Q:

Quote

Could someone explain to me what these even mean? I'm still new to this, it's just that I'm still learning the terminology.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoinforum/comments/7u2dq9/soft_fork_vs_hard_fork/

A:

Quote

Hard fork creates a new network which folks must update their software to join. Soft forks do not create a new network.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoinforum/comments/7u2dq9/soft_fork_vs_hard_fork/dthkeyb/

thomas-xmrcgpu · « **Reply #1 on:** February 04, 2018, 01:57:53 PM »

I'm always for the hardfork.
Significant improvements can be done. People just have to adapt. And they will if money is involved

innate · « **Reply #2 on:** March 06, 2018, 07:25:02 AM »

Very interesting topic.

unaffectedcake · « **Reply #3 on:** March 13, 2018, 09:21:42 AM »

Thank you for the explanation!

bitpay · « **Reply #4 on:** March 16, 2018, 09:58:25 AM »

Hard forks is a permanent divergence in the the block chain, commonly occurs when non-upgraded nodes can’t validate blocks created by upgraded nodes that follow newer consensus rules. While Soft forks is a temporary divergence in the block chain caused by non-upgraded nodes not following new consensus rules

innate · « **Reply #5 on:** March 17, 2018, 12:35:19 PM »

thank u for giving time to understand

CryptoCZ · « **Reply #6 on:** April 12, 2018, 12:53:03 PM »

I believe that hard fork can solve more problems and bring more needed changes

yazzy · « **Reply #7 on:** April 22, 2018, 10:51:31 PM »

Interesting topic yet again. I agree that hard fork would allow more positive results.

Garden · « **Reply #8 on:** May 22, 2018, 12:42:34 PM »

A brilliant answer and I agree with the saying that hard fork is a practice of generating new networks which ia surely more attractive option as well. You can not generate networks with the soft fork! What do you think guys in this regard?

KiraMan · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 2018, 02:54:08 PM »

Soft fork and hard fork is related to any divergence in the blockchain. A hard fork occurs when a single cryptocurrency splits in two. It occurs due to the change of the code. In a soft fork only one blockchain remains valid. Do you people agree with me?

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 29, 2018, 07:35:03 AM »

Thank you for the explanation!

kalii · « **Reply #11 on:** August 08, 2018, 02:37:25 PM »

Yes thanks for the explanation. it's interesting to recover some forgotten knowledge!

traveller · « **Reply #12 on:** August 10, 2018, 09:08:27 AM »

Thank you for the explanation! So does this mean with a soft fork, the users dont have to do anything, but with a hard fork they need to update a software? I still don't quite understand when a hard fork needs to happen/ when a soft fork needs to happen. Can anyone maybe explain why each ones happen? Thanks in advance:)

crypto · « **Reply #13 on:** August 23, 2018, 01:10:45 PM »

It seems like hard fork is better i was wondering what all can be done in soft fork, well thanks for the valuable information

Bloc10Fintech · « **Reply #14 on:** August 30, 2018, 12:36:24 PM »

Great explanation. Thanks

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #15 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:32:32 PM »

Quote from: bitcoinforum.com on January 31, 2018, 01:12:07 PM

A good question asked by OratesFratres and a very good repply by asaltandbuttering on r/bitcoinforum

Q:
A:

Exactly what happen when they occur? Mining stopped? Coin balance of owners will be transferred to new wallet automatically?

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #16 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:33:05 PM »

Quote from: thomas-xmrcgpu on February 04, 2018, 01:57:53 PM

I'm always for the hardfork.
Significant improvements can be done. People just have to adapt. And they will if money is involved

softfork is a change to the bitcoin protocol wherein only previously valid blocks/transactions are made invalid

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:33:44 PM »

Quote from: bitpay on March 16, 2018, 09:58:25 AM

Hard forks is a permanent divergence in the the block chain, commonly occurs when non-upgraded nodes can’t validate blocks created by upgraded nodes that follow newer consensus rules. While Soft forks is a temporary divergence in the block chain caused by non-upgraded nodes not following new consensus rules

Since old nodes will recognize the new blocks as valid, a softfork is backward-compatible. When a majority of miners upgrade to enforce new rules, it is called a miner-activated softfork (MASF).

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #18 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:34:22 PM »

Quote from: CryptoCZ on April 12, 2018, 12:53:03 PM

I believe that hard fork can solve more problems and bring more needed changes

A hardfork is a change to the bitcoin protocol that makes previously invalid blocks/transactions valid, and therefore requires all users to upgrade.

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #19 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:35:35 PM »

Quote from: yazzy on April 22, 2018, 10:51:31 PM

Interesting topic yet again. I agree that hard fork would allow more positive results.

When full nodes coordinate to enforce new rules, without support from miners, it is called a user-activated softfork (UASF).

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #20 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:36:16 PM »

Quote from: Garden on May 22, 2018, 12:42:34 PM

A brilliant answer and I agree with the saying that hard fork is a practice of generating new networks which ia surely more attractive option as well. You can not generate networks with the soft fork! What do you think guys in this regard?

Any alteration to bitcoin which changes the block structure (including block hash), difficulty rules, or increases the set of valid transactions is a hardfork.

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #21 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:37:16 PM »

Quote from: KiraMan on May 23, 2018, 02:54:08 PM

Soft fork and hard fork is related to any divergence in the blockchain. A hard fork occurs when a single cryptocurrency splits in two. It occurs due to the change of the code. In a soft fork only one blockchain remains valid. Do you people agree with me?

However, some of these changes can be implemented by having the new transaction appear to older clients as a pay-to-anybody transaction (of a special form), and getting the miners to agree to reject blocks including the pay-to-anybody transaction unless the transaction validates under the new rules.

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #22 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:37:59 PM »

Quote from: kalii on August 08, 2018, 02:37:25 PM

Yes thanks for the explanation. it's interesting to recover some forgotten knowledge!

That is one of the scenarios for a hardfork, but not the only one. It is possible for a hard fork to occur with consensus, i.e. all current users (nodes in this case) support the fork and everyone upgrades software following new rules, as I understand, usually because of a critical security risk.

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #23 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:38:39 PM »

Quote from: traveller on August 10, 2018, 09:08:27 AM

Thank you for the explanation! So does this mean with a soft fork, the users dont have to do anything, but with a hard fork they need to update a software? I still don't quite understand when a hard fork needs to happen/ when a soft fork needs to happen. Can anyone maybe explain why each ones happen? Thanks in advance:)

A technical hard fork could also happen inadvertently via blockchain reorganisation (client discovers longer chain and abandons shorter one). Unlikely to ever happen again at current network growth but I read that this happened at least once already even with Bitcoin on 12 March 2013... and I see can be common with alts.

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #24 on:** September 27, 2018, 04:39:28 PM »

Quote from: crypto on August 23, 2018, 01:10:45 PM

It seems like hard fork is better i was wondering what all can be done in soft fork, well thanks for the valuable information

Soft fork and hardfork have some similarities in that they occur when there is a change to the existing protocols which can occur as a result of situations like risk security issues, general consensus etc

BITCOINBTC · « **Reply #25 on:** October 31, 2018, 09:10:11 AM »

thanks for the explanation.

emma.lee1890 · « **Reply #26 on:** November 14, 2018, 05:15:16 PM »

Any alteration to bitcoin which changes the block structure (including block hash), difficulty rules, or increases the set of valid transactions is a hardfork. However, some of these changes can be implemented by having the new transaction appear to older clients as a pay-to-anybody transaction (of a special form), and getting the miners to agree to reject blocks including the pay-to-anybody transaction unless the transaction validates under the new rules. This is known as a softfork.

DemLabs · « **Reply #27 on:** November 24, 2018, 07:44:57 PM »

Thanks for explanations

coinologist · « **Reply #28 on:** November 27, 2018, 03:33:45 PM »

Quote from: traveller on August 10, 2018, 09:08:27 AM

Thank you for the explanation! So does this mean with a soft fork, the users dont have to do anything, but with a hard fork they need to update a software? I still don't quite understand when a hard fork needs to happen/ when a soft fork needs to happen. Can anyone maybe explain why each ones happen? Thanks in advance:)

Could someone please clarify this for me as well?

VladEx · « **Reply #29 on:** January 28, 2019, 07:21:44 AM »

It is an interesting topic, thank you for sharing.

Steve Chrasgnon · « **Reply #30 on:** February 03, 2019, 05:15:47 PM »

Very Interesting, Thanks a lot

letsgetit · « **Reply #31 on:** February 25, 2019, 07:48:25 AM »

100% for the hard one

Meadow · « **Reply #32 on:** February 25, 2019, 06:17:32 PM »

So, if soft forks do not create new networks, why are they run, then?

tepu · « **Reply #33 on:** March 28, 2019, 09:02:03 AM »

Thanks for the explanation.

kbradshaw · « **Reply #34 on:** April 02, 2019, 11:56:41 PM »

I think the problems that hard forks have caused the two bitcoin cash (BCH and BSV) works shows that you should only use hard forks as a last resort. When possible, soft forks are better because you don't have the possibility of a split that will dilute the network affects.

bit858585 · « **Reply #35 on:** April 04, 2019, 05:57:14 PM »

thanks! i know the different now!

maks-ivanov89 · « **Reply #36 on:** April 04, 2019, 06:40:19 PM »

Quote from: kbradshaw on April 02, 2019, 11:56:41 PM

I think the problems that hard forks have caused the two bitcoin cash (BCH and BSV) works shows that you should only use hard forks as a last resort. When possible, soft forks are better because you don't have the possibility of a split that will dilute the network affects.

Hardforks generally should be avoided, this is a dangerous game.

frankcastle · « **Reply #37 on:** April 08, 2019, 04:45:09 AM »

I think majority of crypto market participants don't understand what is the difference

albanpushka · « **Reply #38 on:** April 08, 2019, 09:55:14 PM »

Thank you for the explanation!

Meadow · « **Reply #39 on:** May 09, 2019, 08:59:40 AM »

Quote from: crypto on August 23, 2018, 01:10:45 PM

It seems like hard fork is better i was wondering what all can be done in soft fork, well thanks for the valuable information

Why is it better? I mean does it always help to solve problems?

bart8e · « **Reply #40 on:** May 18, 2019, 10:45:40 AM »

As some of you said here before, hard fork allows you to do some changes, define parameters etc. which I find useful

Geglog · « **Reply #41 on:** May 21, 2019, 03:13:23 PM »

Interesting, thank you

killy_93 · « **Reply #42 on:** May 22, 2019, 10:33:19 AM »

Quote from: bart8e on May 18, 2019, 10:45:40 AM

As some of you said here before, hard fork allows you to do some changes, define parameters etc. which I find useful

Yes, I agree. Hard fork could be very useful

Jonycrypt · « **Reply #43 on:** July 04, 2019, 12:31:06 PM »

I think the problems that hard forks have caused the two bitcoin cash (BCH and BSV) works shows that you should only use hard forks as a last resort. When possible, soft forks are better because you don't have the possibility of a split that will dilute the network affects.

observer · « **Reply #44 on:** July 09, 2019, 11:12:23 AM »

Thanks for this post, it's really helpful. I agree with an opinion that hard forks should be avoided as much as possible - i mean, the results of big updates shouldn't always end as a hard fork, that's what soft forks are for.

Holoiy · « **Reply #45 on:** October 24, 2019, 09:16:08 AM »

I myself do not fully understand the difference. I understand that "Hard Fork" is a more risky game. But thanks for the explanation, it helped someone.

seekingtrader · « **Reply #46 on:** November 02, 2019, 07:50:57 AM »

Soft fork for me as it can still work with older versions.

Almazwin · « **Reply #47 on:** November 12, 2019, 07:39:23 PM »

For me so hard fork is better

Jace1 · « **Reply #48 on:** November 14, 2019, 10:42:45 AM »

How would you explain hard fork and soft fork to a layman

Hagibis · « **Reply #49 on:** November 17, 2019, 09:43:49 PM »

Quote from: Almazwin on November 12, 2019, 07:39:23 PM

For me so hard fork is better

It seems that was really the idea.
I've followed crypto since 2017 but I did not paid attention to what's the difference between the two. So far that was a simple explanation anyone could understand. The altcoins left in my Binance account probably experience hardfork since I put the funds there as I noticed there was a difference coin which I know I did not bought so I am guessing that was an effect of hardfork.

zombyland · « **Reply #50 on:** May 11, 2020, 06:58:38 AM »

Hard fork. What's the idea to make fork, if nothing special didn't changed?

serovandruha · « **Reply #51 on:** July 12, 2020, 12:34:21 PM »

Interesting topic yet again.

wilkinesaudrey · « **Reply #52 on:** July 28, 2020, 08:05:47 AM »

Hard forks is a permanent divergence while soft fork is temporary

KylieSandersonE8Kf · « **Reply #53 on:** January 22, 2021, 03:24:43 PM »

Thank you guys for this interesting thread!

WanSko · « **Reply #54 on:** January 26, 2021, 03:28:28 PM »

Very Interesting, Thanks a lot

Wild Wild SouthWest · « **Reply #55 on:** March 01, 2021, 02:31:39 PM »

Hard fork for me.

EmmaRobbe · « **Reply #56 on:** March 19, 2021, 09:32:40 AM »

Thanks, awesome information!

Nayana Patil · « **Reply #57 on:** March 19, 2021, 10:35:19 AM »

Thank you for sharing, Now it is easy to understand soft fork and hard fork

dolcemariposa1 · « **Reply #58 on:** March 19, 2021, 06:21:37 PM »

It is very helpful for people who are starting out or still do not fully understand Bitcoin.

Pezza · « **Reply #59 on:** August 21, 2021, 11:16:35 AM »

well something i have learned very soon since joining looks like a great site and thanks for the info will look out for more great stuff.

Wolbachia · « **Reply #60 on:** August 26, 2021, 02:43:32 PM »

thanks that is interesting

JasonKingss · « **Reply #61 on:** October 13, 2021, 12:40:43 PM »

I'm always for the hardfork.

Sit · « **Reply #62 on:** October 18, 2021, 04:59:57 PM »

Hello everyone, today I found an interesting article in coincodex about Hard Forks in Cryptocurrencies. In it, Dmitry Mishunin expresses his opinion on the usefulness of a hard fork. I'm not entirely sure, but he seems to be writing that hard forks prevent the possibility of a hacker attack. Is it so?

jason7343 · « **Reply #63 on:** November 03, 2021, 10:09:35 AM »

Hard forks and soft forks are essentially the same in the sense that when a cryptocurrency platform's existing code is changed, an old version remains on the network while the new version is created. Both forks create a split, but a hard fork creates two blockchains and a soft fork is meant to result in one.

adamgil · « **Reply #64 on:** February 11, 2022, 09:17:47 AM »

The terms soft fork and hard fork describe compatibility changes in the underlying protocol.
source :
[size=78%]https://coinpedia.org/guest-post/soft-fork-vs-hard-fork-main-differences/[/size][/color]

Andriano22 · « **Reply #65 on:** February 16, 2022, 10:50:58 AM »

This topic is interesting to me. Thank you for the information.

Begaing · « **Reply #66 on:** February 17, 2022, 11:30:50 AM »

There are two ways to update a chain: a soft fork and a hard fork. Think of a soft fork as a software update that is backward compatible. How does that work? Even if you are using MS Excel 2005 in your laptop and you want to open a spreadsheet created with MS Excel 2015, you can still do so because MS Excel 2015 is backward compatible.

Begaing · « **Reply #67 on:** February 17, 2022, 11:32:01 AM »

There are two ways to update a chain: a soft fork and a hard fork. Think of a soft fork as a software update that is backward compatible. How does that work? Even if you are using MS Excel 2005 in your laptop and you want to open a spreadsheet created with MS Excel 2015, you can still do so because MS Excel 2015 is backward compatible.

The Mad Trader · « **Reply #68 on:** April 02, 2022, 01:57:36 AM »

Quite educational, thanks!
Now I know the difference

Deaconing · « **Reply #69 on:** June 16, 2022, 11:40:05 AM »

I am always on the hard fork side. It has better opportunities.

Qabbry · « **Reply #70 on:** July 19, 2022, 10:16:11 AM »

Hey, it's no nice that so many people join the forum

deoolosmaflasw · « **Reply #71 on:** August 19, 2022, 08:30:50 AM »

I'm always for the hardfork.

davewhite · « **Reply #72 on:** September 15, 2022, 09:51:14 AM »

Great explanation, you rock!

JohnKlein94 · « **Reply #73 on:** October 22, 2022, 12:45:33 PM »

nice post

JohnnyDo · « **Reply #74 on:** December 09, 2022, 11:01:31 AM »

Thanks for info

WithAvoid · « **Reply #75 on:** December 14, 2022, 05:25:17 PM »

A hard fork is a type of change to the underlying software of a blockchain network that makes previously invalid blocks and transactions valid, and vice versa. This is a significant change to the network, and it requires all nodes and users to upgrade to the new software in order to continue participating in the network. Because a hard fork is a more drastic change, it provides an opportunity to make more significant improvements to the network and can also help to address critical issues more effectively.

selena_homes · « **Reply #76 on:** December 26, 2022, 02:14:46 PM »

узнал много полезного

dokine · « **Reply #77 on:** December 27, 2022, 05:29:22 PM »

I choose hardfork for sure
just better

cbdpurekana · « **Reply #78 on:** January 27, 2023, 03:30:37 PM »

FruitBaked · « **Reply #79 on:** April 14, 2023, 03:10:32 AM »

Soft fork is a forward-inclusive fork in a blockchain or decentralized network. Hard forks are backward compatible, ensuring that new nodes can verify blocks from scratch.

dwillis · « **Reply #80 on:** May 08, 2023, 11:32:50 AM »

Depend on situation but I prefer soft work. It's just easier)

JuMoya2298 · « **Reply #81 on:** May 12, 2023, 03:41:31 PM »

I am for soft forks

Batatojulio · « **Reply #82 on:** June 18, 2023, 12:55:50 PM »

Thank you for the explanation!

Corduba95 · « **Reply #83 on:** June 22, 2023, 07:27:28 PM »

interesting point of view, something to think about

AdvancedMarketingAgency · « **Reply #84 on:** July 18, 2023, 11:54:54 AM »

I think Soft Fork is much better as it allows the system to run more stable due to the fact that there is backwards compatibility of updates

HQcredits · « **Reply #85 on:** July 18, 2023, 03:58:59 PM »

A soft fork is an upgrade to the software that is backward-compatible and has validators in an older version of the chain see the new version as valid. Effectively, a hard fork, more often than not, leads to a permanent chain separation, as the old version is no longer compatible with the new version.

HanaWelsh · « **Reply #86 on:** July 26, 2023, 01:41:47 PM »

It depends on your current mental condition
That's why it's hard to answer.
We're always in different situations.
Today, perhaps hard work; later, a soft style of work would be preferable.

Oldinvestwhale · « **Reply #87 on:** August 01, 2023, 07:23:13 AM »

With both hands for Hard F

henrycavil007 · « **Reply #88 on:** August 07, 2023, 05:07:40 PM »

thanks for your info about hard fork and soft fork its very helpful to me

MTV · « **Reply #89 on:** August 28, 2023, 06:47:30 PM »

everything has its pros and cons, I don't even know what to say here

About	Recommended links	Partners/Sponsored links	Network	Social network
Blog	Bitcoin		Litecoin Forum	Follow us on Twitter
Choose your Bitcoin wallet	Bitcoin whitepaper			Facebook
Bitcoin Charts	Bitcoin clients			r/bitcoinforum
IRC Channel	Bitcoin Wiki			Flickr
Advertise with us!	Bisq - Open source decentralized exchanger

News:

Author Topic: Soft Fork vs. Hard Fork (Read 511215 times)