What is happening with Bitcoin?

In last few days there have been too many news coverage on Bitcoin. Why you may ask!

This is because there have been many concerns from Developers, Miners and user which are very different in nature. These concerns are covered by minor and major updates which aren't "One Size Fits All".

These updates are called "Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP)". There are many BIP proposal in past and at present waiting for be implemented. Since no one owns the Bitcoin Network, the updates are approved and implemented based on the Support provided by the Nodes, this know as "Signalling Support".

What is Bitcoin Node?

Bitcoin network is run by Nodes. A "full" node is a client that owns the block chain and that is sharing blocks and transaction across the network. Initially these were run by the user community, but since there was no incentive to run a node, the user community declined and Miners and Pool companies started running nodes. Majority of the Nodes are now run by Mining Pool companies.

Currently these companies control the updates that are to be implemented and this takes us to a situation of multiple BIP's with different probabilities.

BIP 91 , BIP 141 and BIP 148 are very important ones which will shape the future for Bitcoin Network scalability. These improvements will end in either a split creating two sets of Bitcoin currencies or just maintain the status quo. Currently the only hope to this going right is the active participation and commitment (Signalling Support) from the Miners and Mining Pool companies.

• BIP 91: This was created by BitmainWarranty engineer James Hilliard, BIP 91 looks to lock-in SegWit2x's SegWit update before August 1, making the proposal compatible with BIP 148. BIP 91 requires 80% of bitcoin’s miners to signal support for a lock-in and a shorter signaling period than BIP141.
• BIP 148: Uses an older mechanism for making changes to bitcoin, called a user-activated soft fork (UASF). It requires about 50% of mining pools to support the change. Without that support, BIP 148 could activate and split the network into two competing blockchains. BIP 148 Countdown
• BIP 141: BIP 141 was the original plan for activating SegWit.

I have a bitcoin, what do i do about these updates?

Most of the exchanges have instructed the users to move their bitcoins to a paper wallet/Hardware wallet since the users may loose the bitcoin in case of the Bitcoin network split. Please ensure to save the seed of your crypto currency wallet in a safe location.

What is the correlation of Bitcoin and Altcoins in terms of current price trends?

Since most of the Altcoins's purchase is through Bitcoin as a primary currency, any changes or threat to Bitcoin network will affect the performance of these Altcoins, though this may not be the only reason.

Look at this chart : CryptoCurrency Chart

What now for Bitcoin Investors?

Investors are rejoicing this period as they get to buy in Bitcoin and AltCoins which have nearly reached their 50% low and make a profit in the rebound which will be very likely in next 3 months.

If you want to know more about the cryptocurrency, i highly recommend you to take a course on Cryptocurrency from Coursera.

Cryptocurrency from Coursera

Source : CoinDesk, CryptoInsider, CryptoCoin..