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

5 stars based on 44 reviews

It's an effort to implement a code revision referred to as a Segregated Witnessor SegWit, a method for separating signature data from transaction identifier data in a Bitcoin transaction. Doing so offers a number of ostensible benefitsincluding 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 is only embraced by a minority, the blockchain could split.

In an email to The RegisterBitcoin contributor Dave Harding explained, "The development team for SegWit, called Bitcoin Core, released it in late October with an activation method used for a previous successful Bitcoin upgrade.

Miner activation of Bitcoin upgrades is not mandatory, said Harding, but it's less disruptive that way. Harding believes he knows why, but hesitated to speculate. Harding describes UASF as a boycott on steroids. 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. Harding said that if everyone accepts the proposal or if everyone rejects it, there would be no issue.

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

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. 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.

The Register - Independent news and views for the tech community. Part of Situation Publishing. Join our daily or weekly newsletters, subscribe to a specific section or set News alerts.

The Register uses cookies. But I did log in to the portal, Dave. Blame everything on 'computer error' — no one will contradict you If you're a Fedora fanboi, this latest release might break your heart a little Microsoft's latest Windows 10 update downs Chrome, Cortana LLVM contributor hits breakpoint, quits citing inclusivity intolerance.

Password re-use is dangerous, right? So what about stopping it with password-sharing? Master Amazon Web Services: Get on top of reliability with our best practices webinar El Reg's Serverless Computing London call for papers shuts tonight Now that Kubernetes has won, DigitalOcean takes a late dip in K8s Software dev and deployment luminaries head to Westminster. Geek's Guide Put Nov. Hopefully Pentagon in uproar: Boffins think they've found the evidence.

Now for some security headaches Silicon can now reconfigure itself with just a jolt of electricity day drone flights? You are like a little baby. How about a full YEAR? Verity Stob Mystery crapper comes a cropper The steaks have never been higher: Swiss Lidl is selling local cannabis Texas residents start naming adopted drains No top-ups, please, I'm a millennial: Lightweight yoof shunning booze like never before.

Don't panic, but your Bitcoins may just vanish into the ether next month Well, actually, do panic. No overwhelming support Harding said that if everyone accepts the proposal or if everyone rejects it, there would be no issue.

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. Most read Cambridge Analytica dismantled for good? It just changed its name to Emerdata Democrats need just one more senator and then a miracle to reverse US net neutrality death Take-off crash 'n' burn didn't kill the Concorde, it was just too bloody expensive to maintain Microsoft's latest Windows 10 update downs Chrome, Cortana Exclusive to all press: Atari launches world's best ever games console.

More from The Register. Junk food meets junk money: Lloyds Bank bans Bitcoin purchases by credit card customers B-b-b. Cops seek 4 for aggravated burglary in Midsomer Murders town Fintech workers reportedly targeted. UK reaches peak Bitcoin as bin firm accepts cryptocurrency 'It's not a publicity stunt,' says BusinessWaste.

JavaScript fingered for poking cash-spilling holes in Bitcoin wallets If you've got an old money store, check it for hacked gaps. Bitcoin hijackers found at least one sucker for scam Chrome extension Victim of 'FacexWorm' malware clicked on random link from Facebook Messenger.

Elon Musk says he's not Satoshi Nakamoto and is pretty rubbish at Bitcoin He had some once, but lost them down the back of the sofa. Seeking to reduce costs and to provide better customer experience. The ascendancy of the multi-cloud world gives you some new things to worry about and some old ones to relax about.

This paper suggests a battery of technical checks that testers can quickly perform to stratify the vast array of applications that exist in the enterprise ecosystem. Sponsored links Get The Register's Headlines in your inbox daily - quick signup!

About us Who we are Under the hood Contact us Advertise with us. Sign up to our Newsletters Join our daily or weekly newsletters, subscribe to a specific section or set News alerts Subscribe.

Blockchainbased next internet craze

  • Antal fekete bitcoin charts

    Bitcoin miner software earn free $13 to $25 in btc dailynew version uploaded

  • Looking for auto trading robot api workers or work

    Chanson je suis nono le petit robot

Bitgold venezuela president

Ky obituaries

  • How to get bitcoin xt

    Nxt mindstorm robot arm

  • Bitcoin trade api bot job

    Cryptotrader trading bot review forum

  • Ethereum wallet setup movie

    Tag bitcoin trading bot php

Liquid aromen bewertung fluggesellschaften

35 comments 105 osprey exmouth market

Buy bitcoin uk paypal telephones

If you are about to explore Bitcoin, there are a few things you should know. Bitcoin lets you exchange money in a different way than with usual banks. As such, you should take time to inform yourself before using Bitcoin for any serious transaction. Bitcoin should be treated with the same care as your regular wallet, or even more in some cases! Like in real life, your wallet must be secured. Bitcoin makes it possible to transfer value anywhere in a very easy way and it allows you to be in control of your money.

Such great features also come with great security concerns. At the same time, Bitcoin can provide very high levels of security if used correctly. Always remember that it is your responsibility to adopt good practices in order to protect your money. Read more about securing your wallet. The price of a bitcoin can unpredictably increase or decrease over a short period of time due to its young economy, novel nature, and sometimes illiquid markets. Consequently, keeping your savings with Bitcoin is not recommended at this point.

Bitcoin should be seen like a high risk asset, and you should never store money that you cannot afford to lose with Bitcoin. If you receive payments with Bitcoin, many service providers can convert them to your local currency.

Any transaction issued with Bitcoin cannot be reversed, they can only be refunded by the person receiving the funds. That means you should take care to do business with people and organizations you know and trust, or who have an established reputation.

For their part, businesses need to keep control of the payment requests they are displaying to their customers. Bitcoin can detect typos and usually won't let you send money to an invalid address by mistake. Additional services might exist in the future to provide more choice and protection for the consumer. Some effort is required to protect your privacy with Bitcoin.

All Bitcoin transactions are stored publicly and permanently on the network, which means anyone can see the balance and transactions of any Bitcoin address. However, the identity of the user behind an address remains unknown until information is revealed during a purchase or in other circumstances.

This is one reason why Bitcoin addresses should only be used once. Always remember that it is your responsibility to adopt good practices in order to protect your privacy. Read more about protecting your privacy. Transactions don't start out as irreversible. Instead, they get a confirmation score that indicates how hard it is to reverse them see table. Each confirmation takes between a few seconds and 90 minutes, with 10 minutes being the average. If the transaction pays too low a fee or is otherwise atypical, getting the first confirmation can take much longer.

Bitcoin is an experimental new currency that is in active development. Each improvement makes Bitcoin more appealing but also reveals new challenges as Bitcoin adoption grows. During these growing pains you might encounter increased fees, slower confirmations, or even more severe issues. Be prepared for problems and consult a technical expert before making any major investments, but keep in mind that nobody can predict Bitcoin's future. Bitcoin is not an official currency.

That said, most jurisdictions still require you to pay income, sales, payroll, and capital gains taxes on anything that has value, including bitcoins.

Some things you need to know If you are about to explore Bitcoin, there are a few things you should know. Securing your wallet Like in real life, your wallet must be secured.

Bitcoin price is volatile The price of a bitcoin can unpredictably increase or decrease over a short period of time due to its young economy, novel nature, and sometimes illiquid markets. Bitcoin payments are irreversible Any transaction issued with Bitcoin cannot be reversed, they can only be refunded by the person receiving the funds. Bitcoin is not anonymous Some effort is required to protect your privacy with Bitcoin. Unconfirmed transactions aren't secure Transactions don't start out as irreversible.

Government taxes and regulations Bitcoin is not an official currency. Recommendation during emergencies to allow human intervention.