Bitcoin's Fork Risks Significantly Reduced
This week witnessed a dramatic turnaround in Bitcoin's market position as the highly anticipated scaling solution vote concluded. The BIP91 proposal, designed to prevent an early August blockchain split, gained overwhelming miner support with a 90.3% approval rate by July 21. Leading Chinese mining pool F2Pool confirmed the successful SegWit2x upgrade, signaling that Bitcoin will likely undergo a smooth soft fork rather than a disruptive hard fork.
👉 Understanding Bitcoin forks explained
Key differences between fork types:
- Hard Fork: Creates two separate blockchains when nodes disagree on protocol changes
- Soft Fork: Maintains a single blockchain through backward-compatible upgrades
Price Recovery and Market Outlook
After suffering a 39% drop during recent uncertainty, Bitcoin staged a remarkable recovery:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Weekly Peak Gain | 53% (CNY) |
| 24-hour USD Increase | 15.14% |
| Domestic High Price | ~¥20,000 per BTC |
Market analysts observe that Bitcoin demonstrated stronger resilience than altcoins during the volatility. "As the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin maintains an anchoring effect for the entire digital asset ecosystem," noted 21st Century Capital Research Institute.
Exchange Preparations for Fork Scenarios
Major Chinese exchange Huobi announced operational changes for August 1:
- Suspension of BTC deposits/withdrawals around 08:00 UTC
Contingency plans for potential chain splits:
- Users receive equal amounts of all forked coins
- Gradual listing of new Bitcoin variants if necessary
👉 Secure your Bitcoin holdings today
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my existing Bitcoin become worthless after a fork?
No. You'll retain ownership of all valid blockchain versions, though market values may differ.
How long will exchange services be interrupted?
Huobi expects to resume normal operations once network stability confirms, typically within hours.
Why did Bitcoin price rebound so quickly?
Reduced technical uncertainty restored investor confidence, combined with pent-up demand from sidelined capital.
What's the difference between SegWit2x and other scaling solutions?
This compromise approach combines segregated witness technology with a gradual block size increase to satisfy diverse stakeholder groups.