On Thursday, major Bitcoin network operator (or ‘mining pool’) F2Pool formally withdrew its support for the next stage of a planned Bitcoin upgrade known as SegWit2x. Yesterday, Hong Kong Bitcoin exchange BitMEX did the same. The moves highlight persistent tensions dividing supporters of the decentralized digital payments system, which are expected to trigger a Bitcoin network split, or ‘fork,’ on or around November 18.
The consequences of that split are hard to predict, but they could be disruptive enough to end Bitcoin’s massive ongoing rally. Broadening investor interest pushed the price of each Bitcoin token up by 160% in the first six months of 2017, and the momentum has held. From around $2,500 per coin in early July, a single Bitcoin’s value has rocketed to above $5,700 as of Friday (all numbers courtesy CoinMarketCap).
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http://fortune.com/2017/10/14/bitcoins-big-compromise-is-unravelling-as-a-contentious-upgrade-threatens-to-split-the-network/
