Bitcoin's Next Civil War Battle May Already Be Looming

The recent bitcoin civil war has been an ugly, highly politicized affair, with each side trying to manipulate the media and tilt public opinion in their favor. That's why the community breathed a sigh of relief last month with a compromise called SegWit2x, an upgrade to bitcoin's underlying software. After the agreement, the cryptocurrency has doubled in price, with bulls predicting a new golden age of blockchain innovation and more gains.
The problem is that SegWit2x is a two-step process, and only the first one is complete. The second step, scheduled for November, is already generating controversy and could halt the rally unless things go smoothly.
If you own or follow bitcoin, here are three things to watch in the coming months:

1. The first step of SegWit2x was SegWit, which has fixed bugs and given developers room to add new blockchain functions. As a result, if we start to actually see new tools being tested or implemented (like Lightning), it would go a long way to proving the bullish thesis that bitcoin can be as innovative as other cryptocurrencies, like ethereum.

2. The second step of SegWit2x aims to double transaction capacity (hence "2x"). It was included to win support from miners, who earn fees from transactions. The problem is that some developers are now saying SegWit can do the same thing, and are backing away from the scheduled implementation in November. If support for "2x" part falls apart, either the miners or developers could walk away from the agreement, rekindling worries of a bigger split that rocked the currency in mid July.

3. SegWit2x didn't please everyone, and a minority of miners later broke off to form a new version of bitcoin called Bitcoin Cash. While its market value is currently just a tenth of bitcoin, it has been winning support from key businesses such as Coinbase and BitGo. If this trend accelerates and if Bitcoin Cash's price rises, it could create incentives for more miners to abandon the original bitcoin and migrate to the new version, or even create more offshoots.