Ethereum is up for big improvements with its long-awaited Byzantium fork releasing on October 17. Before you choose to invest in the currency, let's talk about Ethereum Byzantium hard fork Impact on Crypto Market. Do you think the hard fork will affect users?
12 October, AtoZForex - Countdown begins for the first part of Ethereum's long-awaited Metropolis upgrade. Byzantium is ready to go live on October 17. The hard fork for Byzantium will now occur at block number 4,370,000.
Ethereum Byzantium hard fork Impact on Clients
As the shift toward Byzantium is dependant on the network nodes updating, the main focus in the days ahead will be ensuring the clients that offer software to nodes are ready for the upgrade. This means that startups responsible for overseeing clients need to ensure their software actually contains the EIPs that enforce the Byzantium hard fork.
While each client enforces the same rules, they're written in different programming languages and backed by different developer teams. This is what Ethereum has called "client diversity," which is intended to allow for innovation while retaining a stable, unambiguous base protocol.
Moreover, Ethereum’s core development team is optimistic that clients will upgrade their software uniformly. Clients should make all the necessary changes by ensuring the completion of the upgrade in unison. The blockchain’s most popular client, Go Ethereum (Geth), has already undergone the upgrade. Due to high load on the network, Ethereum cannot keep up with the pace and scale. All Ethereum clients must update with software that enforces the block number 4,370,000.
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin's python-based Ethereum client made available an update. Similarly, java-based EthereumJ and java script EthereumJS released an upgrade earlier today. Most notably perhaps is that it will significantly lower Byzantium mining difficulty.
Ethereum Byzantium hard fork Miners Impact
Looking ahead, the second part of Metropolis, Constantipole postponed indefinitely. Users will have to wait before they can enjoy maximum privacy on the platform. The update makes block mining faster, and in order to compensate for this, block rewards for miners after Byzantium will reduce by 2 ETH, or about $604 according to current metrics. Despite supportive
Despite supportive upgrade, it causes some dispute, leading some parties to threaten to continue to mine the pre-Byzantium Ethereum. Unless these efforts turn out to be significant, though, this is unlikely to pose any impact on the exchanges.
However, all major Ethereum clients will need to release a Byzantium upgrade within the next week, with ample time for nodes to update. If certain nodes left behind, the blockchain will split, creating different versions of the same platform.
Ethereum Byzantium hard fork Impact on Exchanges
Ethereum's last major hard fork, an emergency measure in response to the failure of a major decentralized application called The DAO caused the sudden creation of two competing ether cryptocurrencies. As a small group of users rejected the change, they were able to restart the old blockchain.
As mentioned, there are a handful of signs that the Byzantium fork will be contentious. Although none seem to be of particular significance.
A couple projects worth noting are those that intend to introduce new variations of Ethereum, for example Etherite, which wants to create a version of Byzantium that does not lower the mining reward. If the movement gains support, this could put pressure on exchanges, which have shown a recent willingness to support assets running on so-called "minority" blockchains as a way to offer new alternatives for speculators.
Ethereum Byzantium hard fork consequences for Application developers
As a small group of users rejected the change, they were able to restart the old blockchain, forming a project now known as Ethereum classic, valued at $11.48 according to current metrics. Similarly, applications running on Ethereum are also unlikely to run into difficulties.
Mist, the Ethereum browser for decentralized applications (dapps), automatically upgrades to Byzantium. The same applies for all the dapps on Ethereum. The upgrades should activate instantly after block number 4,370,000 by providing the hard fork occurs consistently across the nodes. There is one major change that will mark difference to how developers will interact with transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.
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