₦airaland Forum

Don't panic, but your Bitcoins may just vanish into the air next month

Well, actually, do panic.

The community-driven organization overseeing Bitcoin on Wednesday warned that any Bitcoins received after Monday, July 31, 2017 at GMT-0700 may vanish into thin air or be rejected as invalid.

Bitcoin.org said that at the end of the month, Bitcoin confirmation scores – a number that represents the difficulty of altering the associated transaction – may become unreliable for an unknown period.

"This means that any Bitcoins you receive after that time may later disappear from your wallet or be a type of Bitcoin that other people will not accept as payment," the group said.

The reason for this "potential network disruption" is Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 148 (BIP 148), which describes a "user-activated soft fork" (UASF). It's an effort to implement a code revision referred to as a Segregated Witness, or SegWit, a method for separating signature data from transaction identifier data in a Bitcoin transaction.

Doing so offers a number of ostensible benefits, including increasing the Bitcoin blocksize, limiting the extent to which transaction data can be modified by third parties, and simplifying scripting upgrades.

The SegWit operation depends on the consensus of Bitcoin miners. If a majority of the Bitcoin miners signal their support through their mining activity, the change should become active across all compatible Bitcoin clients.

But if BIP 148 is only embraced by a minority, the blockchain could split. That would create a situation where BIP 148 Bitcoins and legacy Bitcoins would be incompatible.

In an email to The Register, Bitcoin contributor Dave Harding explained, "The development team for SegWit, called Bitcoin Core, released it in late October 2015 with an activation method used for a previous successful Bitcoin upgrade. The method required Bitcoin miners signal that they support SegWit; when 95 per cent of mining capacity signaled their support within any of 26 scheduled two-week periods, SegWit would activate."

Miner activation of Bitcoin upgrades is not mandatory, said Harding, but it's less disruptive that way.

Since then, only about 35 per cent of miners have signaled support for the change. Harding believes he knows why, but hesitated to speculate.

"After several months of SegWit stuck at 35 per cent, someone proposed we use a different activation method for SegWit – one that didn't rely on miners," Harding said. "They called their method a 'User Activated Soft Fork (UASF)' and pointed to a number of historic occasions where similar mechanisms were used to upgrade Bitcoin from 2009 to 2012."

Harding describes UASF as a boycott on steroids. "Starting at a particular time (or other signal), a group of users boycotts any mining done by miners who haven't upgraded," he said. "By itself that would probably be ineffective, as most boycotts are, but the design of Bitcoin means that if you boycott a miner you also boycott everyone else who uses that miner or anything derived from that miner."

That's what's happening at the end of the month. As a consequence, everyone will be forced to join the boycotters or to exclude them.

No overwhelming support

Harding said that if everyone accepts the proposal or if everyone rejects it, there would be no issue.

"Unfortunately neither of those happened," he said. "There's a moderate amount of vocal support for the UASF among Bitcoin's most active users on social media, but it's not overwhelming support. That means when the UASF starts on August 1st, we have to wait and see whether or not the people who say they support the UASF actually put their money where their mouth is and refuse to accept Bitcoins from any boycotted miner or anyone associated with that miner."

And for those who haven't chosen a side, there's uncertainty about which kind of Bitcoin will be valid.

"If we accept Bitcoins from someone who is boycotted and the UASFers win, that Bitcoin will disappear from our wallet," Harding said. "The reverse is true; if we accept a Bitcoin from a UASF supporter and they lose, that Bitcoin could also disappear from our wallet."

Harding stressed that Bitcoin marked as confirmed in a wallet prior to the start of the event will be safe. It's the Bitcoins passing back and forth afterwards that are at issue.

"It's a rather awful situation," said Harding. "Unfortunately the only advice we can give to users is in the notice, which is to stop using Bitcoin on July 31st until we know whether or not the UASF succeeded."

To further complicate matters, there's another such proposal known as "SegWit2" planned for November.

Bitcoin.org is warning of the possibility of price fluctuations. It advises Bitcoin users to:

Not trust payments until some indeterminate time when the situation has been resolved.
Not send payments during this period.
Be wary of offers to invest in the outcome of the SegWit by splitting your coins.
Among those in the Bitcoin community, there's doubt about whether this alert is being handled in a responsible manner, because a blockchain split is considered unlikely.

"If this alert is too stark ... it risks spreading a lot of FUD and panic selling before August 1st that could wipe billions off Bitcoin's market cap and who knows how much out of people's pockets," observed Will Binns, a Bitcoin.org maintainer, in a discussion on GitHub's Bitcoin repo.

A research note issued by Morgan Stanley analysts on Wednesday may do more damage. It advised spending bitcoins rather than saving them because "Bitcoin acceptance is virtually zero and shrinking.

Lala ppl need to see this....

Mtchewww. This woman no play when she Dey small; she just had the chance to and I pity those who choose to turn sand with her.

One of the reason why 2face remain the best human to model after. Dude doesn't reply any gilbrish you throw at him thereby making you look foolish the more. It's funny when they say 2baba isn't educated but appears to be the only educated entertainer amongst his peers. Tell me now, who's more sane between aunty prison and daddy biggy?

This is why I like 2face, he will never reply any gillbrish you trow at him thereby making you look foolish the more. Now tell me, who's sane between both seyi and mama prison ?

But she's not fine now

If Evans had been able to kidnap any of them, e for don retire before dem catch am

That second to the last tho....I think the only thing expensive in Abuja is the accommodation; little wonder why you'll see a full empty estate( especially for the gwarimpa) , besides that, everything is kinda Normal compared to other states

Crush of life...... I can kill buhari because of this geh

And our men will be going for dilapidated oyinbo women.

What the hell, and they even closed their eyes while they kissed? Gosh!!!

Ever8054:
d guy after the sex....and you think iam fine abi,thunder fiar you!!!

I don die. Lolest!!!!

Na so one tell me say I no Dey do am well well after giving my best......I can't go and kill myself biko; there's still better thing to achieve in life than satisfying bore hole olosho

If Desmond Eliot can do it with lagosians then you can with anambarians.

It's your right bro.....

Has Pinick and dalung visited??

Well, I guess there are other things that needs money spended on.

Get well brother!!!

The best gift a man can offer his wards is to get him educated off the shores of this country. Not because we don't have the best of tutors or human capacity but because he will save the kid the trauma, stress, inhuman factors that the system cum our government will but him through. Imagine serving 7 years for a 4 years course with dilapidated tools amidst abundance we are supposed to enjoy.


Congrats to the boy though

And he broke up with the girl when she aske for a refund? WAWU!!

What else is there to see in this world Chineke

Are this pastors or hushpuppi? Lol

If you're not a Catholic because of its religion...be a Catholic because of it's organization.

Dude, I don't think there's anything wrong with you but anxiety. Anxiety on how to impress your babe and be the man you semdonly hear of(which in some cases are just fiction)

My advice, get yourself some olosho to do things with. Get enough practice from sex workers, desist from watching porn, stop masturbating( if you do) and take Jedi if you must. U should be better afterwards

CROWNWEALTH019:
Enough of all these hyping , if I go UK I would graduate with first class after all I came out 2.1 from the university if Ilorin...


Our 2.1 na first class for havard

I Dey tell you, the stress alone we go through with empty stomach and still come out with a good grade shows we could get even an A+ if we are given the same opportunity

Make she come naija Na.....after stress of course registeration, signing exam forms, shuttle struggle and the nights of empty stomach make we come see weather she fit attain the same fit

Having money is the gate the leads to all this characteristics. Once you're broke, bross....OYO

Mehn, if I be devido Na double hammer oo

Dude should sue the hell out of the event centre for security negligence. Can't be allowing rougues get away with violent act

Dude is fine and athletic just like me. Na to hama e remain make I match well

lucky999:
The daughter no resemble her

Until she bleach Abi?

Why is there always dot on thier chest? My preek is not understanding

Why is there always for on thier chest? My preek is not understanding

That kolomemtal album was a hit

Still remember all the tracks even tho e don tay

Meanwhile, blackface is somewhere hating on 2face.


The blackly above me tho......u use black bleaching cream?

Oga oo. Dem don Dey wear bra Comot now?

Ask this one the full meaning of WAEC now and she'll hibernate.

Lol. So devido goes through his messages.... Dude got time

Lols. Evil Nigerian. dude was simply saying the truth tho. Wait oo, the breast start from her neck ?

And me too can sing oo