MY HOMEWORK POST

1.What is a Fork? (In your own Words)

A fork can be seen in several ways, but the simple understanding is that fork occur when there is a change in protocol when a blockchain separate into about two or more tracks path. Fork can occur in Steemit platform,or any cryptocurrency technology such as Bitcoin, Ethereum that you might think of. Whenever two different parties get disagreement, alternative chains will emerge from the chain. Forks in cryptocurrency can be divided into two the intentional and accidental forks.

The intentional forks,stands to change the rules of the blockchain which group into two different types, involving the soft and hard forks which you are going to know more better as you continue reading. The accidental forks occur if two or more separate blocks are discovered at the time, and it is fixed when preceding blocks being included, and one of the chains now become shorter or longer than one. At this point, if the blockchain network desist from the blocks that are in the shorter chain,it will then be called the orphaned blocks.

2.Explain in details what a Hard Fork is with examples (Can be of any blockchain).

Hard fork is when a blockchain nodes that is new stop accepting the old version of the blockchain network. In a simple understanding,is the radical change that occur in the protocols of a blockchain network. The hard fork occur when new nodes add rules in such a way that disagree with the old nodes rules. When such things happen it means that the new nodes can communicate with those that make use of the new version. This will lead to the blockchain splits, because two separate network have been created of which one is with the new rules, whereas one with the old rules. Although the both will continue to produce blocks and transactions on a separate blockchain.

An example of a hard fork is Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) that broken into different chains BTC is the old one, while BCH is the new one. The fork occurred in 2017 after so much argument concerning the best approach to scaling. In they argument, BCH proponents wanted to increase the size of the block, while BTC proponents was against the change. All what BCH need was an increase in the block which needs modification ot the rules.

3.Explain in details what a Soft Fork is with examples (Can be of any blockchain).

A soft fork is simply a change to the software protocol that requires only the previously valid transaction to be invalid.It can be seen as a backward compatible upgrade, which requires the new node to still communicate with the old nodes. In the soft forks, you can notices that the addition of new rule don't affect the old rules.

An example of a soft fork is the Segregated Witness (SegWit) fork, that happened after the BTC and BCH division. Segregated Witness soft fork was implemented to decrease the size of a transactions and blocks by changing the format of the original block. This implies that old nodes can still validate transactions because the new implementation affect the rules due to how it was well crafted,but will find it difficult to comprehend them. Data can only be readable if switch to the new version, that permit the old version to resolve data.

4.What are the differences between Hard Forks and Soft Forks?

Hard fork and soft forks are mostly the same which are details below in a tabuler form.

Hard Fork	Soft Fork
Old and new blockchains are exist side by side,which requires one update in other to switch to the new rules	Only one blockchain will stand valid as users adopt the update.
Hard forks creates two blockchains; split into new and old	Soft fork is stand to be in one.
Hard fork is backward incompatible	Soft fork is backward compatible
There is repetition of block heights	There is no repetition of block heights

5.Explain the following Bitcoin Forks and explore the blockchain where necessary. Indicate if they are hard forks or soft forks;

• Bitcoin Cash
• Segregated Witnesses

Bitcoin Cash

In regard to Segregated Witnesses, some developers and users of bitcoin come to an agreement to build a hard fork in so they can avoid the update of the protocol. BCH lead to the creation of hard fork. BCH got itself separated from the main blockchain network in 2017, when it rejected the blocks and transactions of bitcoin (BTC). Today, bitcoin cash stands as the most successful hard fork of the main cryptocurrency. Currently it is rank as the 11 largest coin in Coinmarketcap. Bitcoin Cash is indicate to be hard fork, meaning it's incompatible with the old node.thus creating another currency and a separate blockchain network.
Below is the screenshot image of Bitcoin Cash on the blockchain.

Bitcoin Cash is a hard fork

Segregated Witnesses

The idea of Segregated Witness was presented by Porter Wuille a popular developer of bitcoin in 2015. The goal of SegWit is to reduce the size of every bitcoin transaction, as a means to allow numerous transactions to take place at once. Segwit is indicate to be Soft fork, meaning it's compatible with the old node.

Segregated Witnesses (SegWit) is a soft fork

6.Write on the Steem and Hive Hard fork and show similarities in their Genesis Blocks(Provide screenshots).

Steem has been forked to create Hive, in March 2020, Steem was acquired by TRON. After the acquisition of Steem by TRON,the Steemit community responded to the hostile takeover by launching Hive blockchain, based on steem code with a goal to fight centralization system. Majority of the Steem staffs got disagreed with TRON acquisition. Then 25th February,the witnesses of Steem then attempted a soft fork to stop TRON from destabilizing it's funds.Due to the dispute, the Steem community then part ways with the TRON-led blockchain and went and launched the Hive with hard fork on 20 March, 2020.

Below are the screenshots of Steem and Hive blockchain

Steem Interface

Hive interface

The similarities of Steem and Hive in their Genesis Blocks are shown below from the screenshot.

Steem Genesis Block

Hive Genesis Block

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Looking at the similarities of the genesis blocks of Steem and Hive we can see that they mining date and time are both similar. Now looking at the Block 5000 on Steem and Hive blockchains they do have similar miner which is @steemit63 and also similar Timestamps. When we look at Steem witness is @initminer while that of Hive is called producer @initminer.

Now, let's look at Steem and Hive Token Comparison

Steem make uses of STEEM as itsmain token, whereas Steem dollars (SBD) and TRON is use as its reward token, and also STEEM POWER is use for witness voting. Looking at Hive on the other side has two equivalent tokens known as; HIVE and Hive-Blocked Dollars (HBD).

Thank you readers for your time here............

Best Regards;

@awesononso