Another paywall.
Posting links to restricted content isn't really helpful.
Here dude!
Paywalls can be really a pain in the a**.
So have a nice read!
A schism among software developers that threatens the future of bitcoin has broken into the open with Wednesday’s release of a rival version of the technology behind the digital currency.
The current version of bitcoin, which is maintained by a fractious group of volunteer developers, is at risk of hitting a wall because of a limit on the number of transactions it can handle.
But disagreements over the technology’s direction have prevented a change in the code to allow more entries to be made on blockchain, a public ledger that is at the heart of the system, leaving bitcoin facing the risk of slowed or uncompleted transactions.
In an attempt to overcome the roadblock, a group of developers claiming backing from some of the bitcoin world’s main players released a rival version of the code on Wednesday.
Known as Bitcoin Classic, it doubles the size of the “blocks”, or records of transactions, that are entered into the public ledger. The new code is meant to double the capacity of the network from its current limit of seven transactions a second.
The release represents a “hard fork” from the so-called Bitcoin Core code on which the digital currency at present relies, resulting in two rival codebases that will vie for support among users.
Sceptics say the schism over how to increase the capacity of the blockchain could wreck bitcoin, and that the disagreement among developers will prevent either version from gaining enough support to allow the system to be upgraded.
In the most visible sign of the simmering dispute, Mike Hearn, one of the main bitcoin developers, quit last month, claiming that the failure to make any headway on the issue proved that the digital currency had failed.
However, supporters argue that bitcoin will be self-adjusting, since people involved in the system will gravitate towards the best technology on offer. Once enough have made the switch, others will have no choice but to follow them, since only transactions entered on the longest blockchain will be validated as bitcoins.
“Getting bitcoin to scale up is the most important thing right now,” said Gavin Andresen, the developer behind Bitcoin Classic. “I’m not interested in shutting anybody out. I think we can scale up and keep it just as open as the internet is.”
Along with Mr Hearn, Mr Andresen attempted to force an upgrade of the technology last year with a release known as Bitcoin XT, though they failed to win enough backing for their proposal. The new Bitcoin Classic stood more chance, said Mr Andresen, because it already had the backing of a number of the biggest “miners” who supply the processing power used to validate transactions.
Mr Andresen said he hoped that bitcoin miners would upgrade in the coming weeks and that if 75 per cent of transactions were completed using the new software, it would become the new standard.
Backers of the “hard fork” idea also say it will demonstrate that bitcoin is a self-healing system that can adapt through experimentation and competing architectures. This could make it a new model for how to develop important financial infrastructure, since it does not require the time-consuming and difficult process of getting a majority of participants to agree before introducing a new technology.
“We’re not going to split in two, we’re going to upgrade,” said Brian Armstrong, chief executive of Coinbase, a bitcoin company that said it would support the new code. “It’s the first time the world has seen a global financial system that can be upgraded in real time.”
Even if Bitcoin Classic wins enough backing to become a new standard, it will only be a temporary fix. With the number of transactions in the currency doubling each year, another upgrade would be needed 12 months from now, said Mr Andresen.
However, supporters argue that once the first “hard fork” has been completed, future upgrades will be easier, since participants will be able to see that the approach works.
Rising confidence in the ability of bitcoin to adapt could also lead to a jump in the value of the currency, since one of the biggest questions over its future would have been removed, said Mr Armstrong.
