7 reasons why you should not invest in bitcoins, cryptocurrencies
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It's an effort to implement a code revision referred to as a Segregated Witnessor SegWit, a method for separating signature data from transaction identifier data in a Bitcoin transaction. Doing so offers a number of ostensible benefitsincluding increasing the Bitcoin blocksize, limiting the extent to which transaction data can be modified by third parties, and simplifying scripting upgrades.
The SegWit operation depends on the consensus of Bitcoin miners. If a majority of the Bitcoin miners signal their support through their mining activity, the change should become active across all compatible Bitcoin clients.
But if BIP is only embraced by a minority, the blockchain could split. In an email to The RegisterBitcoin contributor Dave Harding explained, "The development team for SegWit, called Bitcoin Core, released it in late October with an activation method used for a previous successful Bitcoin upgrade. Miner activation of Bitcoin upgrades is not mandatory, said Harding, but it's less disruptive that way.
Harding believes he knows why, but hesitated to speculate. Harding describes UASF as a boycott on steroids. That's what's happening at the end of the month. As a consequence, everyone will be forced to join the boycotters or to exclude them.
Harding said that if everyone accepts the proposal or if everyone rejects it, there would be no issue. That means when the UASF starts on August 1st, we have to wait and see whether or not the people who say they support the UASF actually put their money where their mouth is and refuse to accept Bitcoins from any boycotted miner or anyone associated with that miner. And for those who haven't chosen a side, there's uncertainty about which kind of Bitcoin will be valid. Harding stressed that Bitcoin marked as confirmed in a wallet prior to the start of the event will be safe.
It's the Bitcoins passing back and forth afterwards that are at issue. To further complicate matters, there's another such proposal known as "SegWit2" planned for November. Among those in the Bitcoin community, there's doubt about whether this alert is being handled in a responsible manner, because a blockchain split is considered unlikely. A research note issued by Morgan Stanley analysts on Wednesday may do more damage. It advised spending bitcoins rather than saving them because "Bitcoin acceptance is virtually zero and shrinking.
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Don't panic, but your Bitcoins may just vanish into the ether next month Well, actually, do panic. No overwhelming support Harding said that if everyone accepts the proposal or if everyone rejects it, there would be no issue. It advises Bitcoin users to: Not trust payments until some indeterminate time when the situation has been resolved. Not send payments during this period.
Be wary of offers to invest in the outcome of the SegWit by splitting your coins. Most read Zombie Cambridge Analytica told 'death' can't save it from the law Heir to SMS finally excites carriers, by making Google grovel Admin needed server fast, skipped factory config … then bricked it Password re-use is dangerous, right?
More from The Register. Junk food meets junk money: Lloyds Bank bans Bitcoin purchases by credit card customers B-b-b. Cops seek 4 for aggravated burglary in Midsomer Murders town Fintech workers reportedly targeted. UK reaches peak Bitcoin as bin firm accepts cryptocurrency 'It's not a publicity stunt,' says BusinessWaste. JavaScript fingered for poking cash-spilling holes in Bitcoin wallets If you've got an old money store, check it for hacked gaps.
Bitcoin hijackers found at least one sucker for scam Chrome extension Victim of 'FacexWorm' malware clicked on random link from Facebook Messenger. Elon Musk says he's not Satoshi Nakamoto and is pretty rubbish at Bitcoin He had some once, but lost them down the back of the sofa.
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