Bitcoin forks are one of the prominent aspects in the cryptocurrency and blockchain landscape. Public blockchain networks such as Ethereum and Bitcoin operate on the foundation of decentralization which focuses on achieving agreement between all the network participants on the state of the blockchain network. Unanimous consensus between network participants is essential for creating a single blockchain that includes data on verified transactions. The list of Bitcoin forks is a proof of the consequences that arise due to failures in achieving consensus on the expected state of blockchain in future.

Forks are a common solution in scenarios where a blockchain network has to change the way it works. As of November 2023, there are more than 70 active forks of the Bitcoin network. Technically, you can find over 100 different forks throughout the timeline of Bitcoin history although many of them have become inactive. Let us learn more about forks and understand the details of the most notable Bitcoin forks. 

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What are Forks in Blockchain?

The curiosity to learn about Bitcoin forks might have piqued your interest to familiarize with the working of forks. The forking mechanism involves copying and modification of the source code for generating a new blockchain from the original. Forks are common in the case of open-source blockchains that offer the flexibility to access, edit and modify the code without any restrictions. 

You can discover answers to queries like “How many Bitcoin forks are there” in the categories such as codebase and live blockchain forks. Codebase forks involve copying the blockchain code and modifying it according to your needs. Most of the altcoins use the code of Bitcoin with few changes to create a completely new experience.

Live blockchain forks involve accidental or temporary forks and intentional forks. Accidental or temporary forks emerge in situations where network nodes have conflicting opinions about the chronological sequence of events. Intentional forks involve intentional modification of the code of the blockchain for different purposes, thereby leading to the formation of soft forks and hard forks.

Soft forks involve modification of a blockchain protocol in a backwards-compatible manner, implying that there would be no conflict between old and new rules. Hard fork is evident in scenarios where the software required for running a full node is changed. It means that all the nodes operating on the new chain would have to update their software or protocols according to the new chain. The most noticeable highlight of hard forks is that they are not backwards-compatible with the original blockchain. 

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Purpose of Blockchain Forks 

The search for most popular Bitcoin forks is also likely to make you curious about the necessity of forks. Do blockchain forks offer any meaningful advantages? You might have many other similar questions on your mind when you think about forks for a popular blockchain like Bitcoin. The advantages of blockchain forks can help you understand the reasons for which you need Bitcoin forks.

First of all, blockchain forks help in adding new functionalities with regular upgrades. Most of the public blockchains are open source, network participants can use forks as a solution to release new versions and resolve issues. For example, the best Bitcoin forks can be aimed at solving security issues or creating completely new cryptocurrencies. Forks can also help the blockchain community stop all transactions for a certain period of time when they identify any malicious transaction.

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What are the Most Notable Bitcoin Forks?

You can find more than 100 forks in the Bitcoin blockchain throughout its history. However, most of them are not functional now as they could not garner the interest of the broader blockchain community. Let us take a look at the top Bitcoin forks which have played a major role in transforming the cryptocurrency landscape.

  • Bitcoin XT

Bitcoin XT The first addition among the list of hard forks of the Bitcoin blockchain is Bitcoin XT. It focused on the implementation of new features and achieving better transaction speed on the Bitcoin network. The fork primarily aimed at expanding the block size to almost 8MB. However, it has experienced a sharp decline in popularity since its implementation. 

At the time of creation, Bitcoin XT had more than a thousand nodes. The project had started declining in early 2016 despite being a hard fork of Bitcoin Core. Bitcoin XT is still under maintenance albeit on a minor scale.

  • Bitcoin Classic 

Bitcoin Classic The discussions about Bitcoins forks list price estimates also draw attention towards the failure of Bitcoin XT. It established the foundations for developers to expand the size of blocks thereby leading to the creation of Bitcoin Classic. Bitcoin Classic aimed at increasing the block size to 2MB. The fork gained popularity in 2016 with almost 2000 nodes.

As of now, the project has only around 100 nodes and still exists. Within 8 months of launching, the project changed its direction and focused on a block size that aligns with the requirements of the market. 

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  • Bitcoin Unlimited 

Bitcoin Unlimited The next addition to the list of Bitcoin forks is Bitcoin Unlimited that gained traction in January 2016. It is still popular although not at the level at which it was at the time of launch. At the same time, it is just behind the Bitcoin Core network in terms of number of nodes. Bitcoin Unlimited has around 650 nodes in the network.

The forking strategy for Bitcoin Unlimited presents a unique example. Bitcoin Unlimited released the code albeit without any clear instructions regarding the type of fork it uses. The design of Bitcoin Unlimited suggests that the network would require more than 75% of the miners for approving transactions. Miners can choose the size of the block in this hard fork along with the flexibility to set limits to the size of acceptable blocks. 

  • Segregated Witness 

Segregated Witness Segregated Witness or Segwit is another prominent Bitcoin fork that caught the attention of the crypto community for different reasons. It was proposed as an idea in December 2015 and gained immense traction within a few weeks. Segwit is one of the best Bitcoin forks that adopted an innovative approach to create a new fork. The proposal for Segwit came with BIP 41 that served as a type of hack to reduce the size of Bitcoin transactions.

Bitcoin transactions include different components such as the signature. Segwit work by removing signatures to reduce transaction size. As a matter of fact, signatures eat up around 60% of the total Bitcoin blockchain. Segwit works by storing the signature on an extended block which is a special type of data structure for this fork. Segwit also stands out for offering a solution to transaction malleability which has been a formidable bug for Bitcoin blockchain. 

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  • Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash The answers for ‘how many Bitcoin forks are there’ would obviously lead you to Bitcoin Cash. It has become a popular Bitcoin fork for solving the problem of scalability. Many people didn’t like Segwit because it happened on the Bitcoin blockchain and the only solution was to implement a sudden hard fork. Interestingly, the Bitcoin Cash fork never waited for support and allotted a specific date for branching away from the Bitcoin blockchain.

Bitcoin Cash wallets rejected Bitcoin transactions and blocks after August 2017. The Bitcoin Cash fork gained support from popular influencers and major crypto wallets. Bitcoin Cash mining is a more profitable option as miners can switch to Bitcoin Cash from the main blockchain when Bitcoin Cash gains value. 

The discussions about Bitcoin forks list price in the case of Bitcoin have been gaining a lot of momentum. Bitcoin Cash has been through a lot of fluctuations since its creation. It is also important to note that most of the Bitcoin Cash generated from the fork has not been claimed.

  • Bitcoin Gold 

Bitcoin Gold The list of hard forks for Bitcoin also draw attention towards Bitcoin Gold. It happened in October 2017, immediately after the arrival of Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Gold is one of the most popular Bitcoin forks as it aims to solve the problem of mining centralization. Bitcoin Gold supports mining with the help of basic GPUs without relying on specialized hardware.

One of the most promising highlights of Bitcoin Gold is the pre-mining facility. The development team was able to mine around 100,000 coins following the fork, and allocated them for the governance of the Bitcoin Gold ecosystem. Bitcoin Gold follows many of the fundamental principles underlying the design of Bitcoin albeit with deviations from the Proof of Work algorithms.

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Final Thoughts 

The utility of forks in the blockchain landscape offers some notable reasons to think about Bitcoin forks. You can find multiple additions to a collection of top Bitcoin forks that are still active. The hard forks and soft forks on Bitcoin blockchain have a major role in the blockchain and cryptocurrency landscape. The popular altcoins in cryptocurrency markets worldwide have been designed by using the codebase forks of Bitcoin.

As you explore the depths of the cryptocurrency landscape, you would notice that Bitcoin forks would improve blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the long run. The success of existing forks would pave the path for the arrival of new forks for different new needs. Learn more about upcoming Bitcoin forks and discover their importance right now.

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*Disclaimer: The article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such. 101 Blockchains shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this article. Do your own research!