SegWit2X Hard Fork Occurs, Creates Confusion

Published on December 28, 2017 by Cryptovest Staff

At block 501,451, a group of developers claims to have forked the Bitcoin blockchain, and created the SegWit2X hard fork. However, to differentiate from the November planned fork, headed by Jeff Garzik, this Bitcoin implementation would be called "SegWit2X X11", after its hashing algorithm. X11 is the encryption coins like DASH use, and it is linked to another type of mining rig- meaning that this time, a SegWit2X blockchain will not withdraw hashing power from Bitcoin.

The Long Awaited Launch of New Bitcoin SegWit2X Fork Finally Took Place!pic.twitter.com/GC46rYFoOI— Segwit2X (@Segwit_2X)December 28, 2017

The Long Awaited Launch of New Bitcoin SegWit2X Fork Finally Took Place!pic.twitter.com/GC46rYFoOI

The announcement may create confusion, as a lot of exchanges have pledged to support the SegWit2X fork originally- and now only trade futures for it. The new coin forked this December 28, however, will be an entirely different digital asset.

The Day of Forks: Bitcoin Cash Plus Launches, Without Main Net

With so many hard forks coming at the end of December, users may be playing a guessing game, as most wallets will not rush to add the assets. Only niche exchanges may see the coin traded.

The project, like similar hard forks, only looks half-finished, and no one actually knows when the main net would start. Luckily, this time the blockchain states it has replay protection.

Earlier yesterday, a fork named Bitcoin Cash Plus launched, with again little to show, and no actual blocks mined. This one does not even have a test net yet, and may be slow in arriving to exchanges. But Bitcoin forks have shown in the past they could forge a path of their own. Bitcoin Cash was the most successful, if contentious, and Bitcoin Gold has made some gains. Even Bitcoin Diamond has seen some trading.

No one actually knows how the new fork would continue, and how it would compete as an altcoin. For now, the SegWit2x X11 digital asset will first have to prove it has viable mining, and then establish itself with wallets.

The Coinomi wallet has been one of the few that tend to support many of the recent Bitcoin forks. It is unknown if it would serve to hold the latest digital asset.