Skip to main content

BIP 91 Locks In: What This Means for Bitcoin and Why It's Not Scaled Yet

IP 91 has officially locked in.
At press time, bitcoin's miners, the network of computer operators that secure the blockchain, have now been signaling that they will upgrade the code for 269 blocks in the same signaling period, a move that takes the software one step closer to changing its structure to accommodate more transactions.
Stepping back, the move finds miners agreeing to cement the first part of a larger effort to upgrade bitcoin, called Segwit2x.
The controversial proposal seeks to change the transaction structure of the network via Segregated Witness, and increase a cap on the amount of data that can be stored in transaction blocks, a move tentatively scheduled for later this fall.
With the signaling, mining pools nearly unanimously rallied behind the proposal, and BIP 91, designed partly to avoid a potential bitcoin split in the network, emerged as the first major step in following the roadmap.
In response, bitcoin saw a sharp price increase on Thursday due to the perceived forward progress, with some calling the BIP 91 lock-in a victory marking a "new dawn" for bitcoin.
But, the lock-in is just the first step to activating SegWit on the network, and other steps come with a bit more complexity.
Specifically, the following things need to happen for it to activate:
  • There will be a 336-block "grace period," taking about two and a half days, during which miners have time to prepare for activation.
  • BIP 91 will activate at block 477,120. Theoretically, mining pools will start rejecting blocks that do not signal support for SegWit (BIP 141). In this way, BIP 91 is a "coordination mechanism" that gets other mining pools to follow along or lose out on mining rewards.
  • SegWit could lock-in during the next difficulty adjustment period of 2016 blocks, which takes about two weeks.
The latter is when Segwit activation is "all in the clear," as BIP 91 creator James Hilliard put it.
That's when bitcoin's SegWit upgrade will be official, and an upcoming user-activated soft fork (UASF) proposal, BIP 148, superseded.

Possible hiccups

But some community members, including respected bitcoin developers and mining pool operators are raising concerns about possible missteps between the time BIP 91 is activated and SegWit locks in.
These concerns boil down to:
  • Thinking miners might not be running the software they signal. If enough mining pools – over 50% – are not running the software, it could impact whether SegWit goes through or not.
  • Speculating that mining pools might run the correct software for a while, then stop before SegWit locks in.
In simpler terms, some bitcoin users don’t trust others to keep their word.
Bitcoin Core contributor Bryan Bishop seems like one of those, suggesting via Twitter that one potential outcome is SegWit not activating at all this time around, even though a few scaling proposals are coming to a head soon.

WeChat saves the day?

But Hilliard waves that apprehension off. "There'd have to be a lot of mess ups," he told CoinDesk.
For him, it just doesn't seem likely since lock-in has recently been at the top of mining pool operator's priority list. Behind the scenes, he and other pool operators have been restlessly working to ensure BIP 91 goes according to plan and bitcoin transitions to the new ruleset smoothly.
Plus, even more Core contributors, who have been largely opposed to Segwit2x, are helping smooth the transition. Bitcoin Core contributor Matt Corallo has been making updates to FIBRE, the fast block-relaying network miners use, which Hilliard said is "probably what’s holding a lot of this together."
It seems many people want to see BIP 91 succeed, likely in an effort to supersede more aggressive alternatives such as BIP 148. While Hilliard agrees with the concept of a UASF, he believes BIP 148 could be riskier than BIP 91.
And finally, because transitioning to the new BIP 91 rules relies on mining pools alone, Hilliard said:
"This is where mining centralization makes things easier, because I can just message everybody on WeChat and help them if needed."

Link: http://www.coindesk.com/bip-91-locks-means-bitcoin-not-scaled-yet/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Blockchain Could Help Tech Giant Cisco Reboot

Cisco is changing. The technology firm best known as the supplier of enterprise computer hardware has seen a slow, steady decline in revenue from some of its core products. As a result of an increasing number technological services being virtualized, and the storage of information moving to the cloud, the $158bn firm has been  restructuring  and exploring new ways to capitalize on connected devices. But amidst this change in identity, it's in identity itself where some of the California-based company's most interesting new experiments are taking place. With a series of early stage blockchain  projects , Cisco is now pushing even deeper into what could end up being much more than a way for employees to prove who they are across subsidiaries. In conversation with CoinDesk, Robert Greenfield IV, Cisco software engineer and executive team lead of the firm's Connected Black Professionals resource group, explained how several blockchain projects have evolv...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bitcoin in Africa: Insights from the Continent’s Biggest Bitcoin Exchange

Isn’t it absurd that nearly 326 million people representing 80% of the adult population in Africa do not have access to bank accounts? This wretched situation denies countless of people financial freedom in the so-called dark continent. Bureaucratic tenors and economic exclusion inter alia have paved the way for the current phenomenon. Last year a study of 10 African nations with unusual inflationary ratio had South Sudan registering an unimaginable inflation rate of 295 percent. Egypt had the slightest with 12.30 percent. African governments continue to plunder the riches of the African people through Inflation. This makes it considerably insurmountable for individuals to conserve their resources. Moreover, public sector borrowing has crowded out the efficient private sector that can put credit to good use. The IMF estimates that averagely credit to the private sector is estimated at 30 percent of GDP in Sub-Sahara Africa. CCN spoke to Werner van Rooyen, Head of Business Develo...
Post a Comment
Read more

WANT TO BUY BITCOIN IN SOUTH AFRICA , KENYA, UGANDA, NIGERIA, GHANA OR OTHER COUNTRIES IN AFRICA? SIMPLE.

With the growing awareness around Africa of bitcoin as a crypto-currency, a means of remittance and a creator of  wealth, more and more people in more and more countries are looking to buy it, and asking how and where they can buy it. Purchasing bitcoin is simple. Simply go online and do a search for “Buying and selling bitcoin in South Africa ““Buying and selling bitcoin in Kenya “Buying and selling bitcoin in Uganda ““Buying and selling bitcoin in Nigeria “ or  “Buying and selling bitcoin in Ghana“ – you get the idea.   To help you though:   In South Africa, three of the most common (and trusted) platforms are: www.localbitcoins.com www.luno.com www.bitx.co In Kenya, the most common (and trusted) platforms) are: www.localbitcoins.com www.bitpesa.co whilst other platforms include: www.altcoins.io www.99bitcoins.com In Uganda, the most common (and trusted) platforms) are: www.localbitcoins.com www.bitpesa.co whilst other platforms incl...
Post a Comment
Read more