Hard Fork & soft Fork
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Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. Today I will write to you ✍️ about the Fork and what is the difference between a hard and a soft fork.
In the development world of programming, a Fork is an updated or new version of code, which is simply old code that has been slightly modified. In crypto terms, Fork could refer to two potential ways that the blockchain could continue. We can categorize these two as Soft forks and Hard forks.👨💻
![](https://cdn.rcimg.net/ALIAKBAR7/3e60fe18/74d0fd40e13ead4523b5353721497036.jpg?width=300&quality=10&blur=20)
A soft fork is a software upgrade that is backwards compatible and has validators on an older version of the chain, they consider the new version to be valid. In fact, a hard fork often results in a permanent separation of the chain because the old version is no longer compatible with the new version.
A hard fork marks an unstable time for a cryptocurrency. The community will often be divided on the issue and the market is generally very volatile, even by cryptocurrency standards.
![](https://cdn.rcimg.net/ALIAKBAR7/3e60fe18/a4ca6176c9fd0671238b6fd6106f4805.jpg?width=300&quality=10&blur=20)
In a hard fork we can have 2 different conflicting protocols which can split the community.
Now this is not good for the community
Or is it? They also don't allow high-end projects to hard fork, as this can destabilize the project
In the soft fork, new rules are added that do not conflict with existing rules.
But in a hard fork, a new rule is added that conflicts with an existing rule.
A typical example of a hard fork is the Bitcoin blockchain in 2017, when the Bitcoin network split into the Bitcoin Mainnet (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
![](https://cdn.rcimg.net/ALIAKBAR7/3e60fe18/3fc94c8595bbf7f22148f7cc068cfaed.jpg?width=300&quality=10&blur=20)
Soft forks do not require miners to do anything else and miners can continue mining in the same way. However, hard forks need miners to keep updating their internal actions, such as software updates, changing numbers, etc..🤖
In these forks, one is more dangerous than the other, so I think that hard fork is more dangerous because it can have a single protocol before to start a parallel new conflicting protocol that does not support the previous one, because I think the reason is there.
![](https://cdn.rcimg.net/ALIAKBAR7/3e60fe18/91cee983716001a496066c5c917a7dcf.jpg?width=300&quality=10&blur=20)
In a soft fork, even if there is an upgrade in the blockchain, the new protocol will still work in harmony with the old one, meaning no conflicting protocols
While in a hard fork, the new protocol will not conform to the existing rule, a parallel conflicting protocol will be created that will divide the community, as in the case of BTC and BCH.
So what do you think, Which fork is better for the blockchain ecosystem and which is the most dangerous for users including miners?🤔
![](https://cdn.rcimg.net/ALIAKBAR7/3e60fe18/29549e189bb43309e060baf74842c658.jpg?width=300&quality=10&blur=20)
In a hard fork, the old blocks are completely different from the new blocks. So you accept and support soft forks rather than hard forks?🤔
Thanks for reading this article
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Your information doesn't seem to be that right...
You're describing a chain split, not a hard fork.
Also, hard forks don't mean that they add rules that conflict with old ones, they just have new rules that require everyone to join, or else they get left behind.
Soft forks are more dangerous because it basically adds complexity, like trying to rebuild a house without removing the walls. Miners will have to make sure they accept all kinds of transactions/blocks unless they want to get orphaned, unlike hard forks where they just accept the new one and nothing goes wrong.