There are many Bitcoin alternatives in the crypto market. However, Bitcoin forks have been getting a lot of attention recently. Bitcoin Spark (BTCS) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) have especially risen in popularity, with crypto enthusiasts talking highly of their prospects.
What is a Bitcoin fork?
A Bitcoin fork occurs when the underlying codebase of the original Bitcoin protocol is modified, resulting in the emergence of a new digital currency with a distinct set of rules and features. A hard fork involves a radical change that is not backwards compatible, meaning it creates a separate blockchain and network from the original. On the other hand, a soft fork introduces backwards-compatible changes that still allow the new and old versions of the blockchain to coexist. Bitcoin forks have become popular in crypto because they allow users to engage in diverse iterations of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is one of the most widely recognized Bitcoin hard forks. It was created on 1st August 2017 to address the Bitcoin network’s scaling issues. Bitcoin Cash retains the core principles of the Bitcoin protocol, such as decentralization and a fixed supply. However, the developers increased the block size limit, allowing more transactions to be processed in each block. This modification enabled faster and cheaper transactions than the original Bitcoin blockchain, giving Bitcoin Cash (BCH) a significant following among those seeking to use cryptocurrency for everyday transactions.
What is Bitcoin Spark?
Bitcoin Spark (BTCS) is the latest Bitcoin hard fork family addition. This innovative crypto project builds on Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision, retaining the core attributes, such as a limited supply, while introducing several improvements to boost efficiency. First, to effectively reduce the gas fees and increase transaction throughput, Bitcoin Spark will have increased capabilities per block, reduced block time, and a massively increased number of nodes.
Moreover, Bitcoin Spark’s layered architecture will include a smart contract layer that reaches finality on the main network and uses high-level and low-level programming languages. This will enable decentralized applications (Dapps) on the Bitcoin Spark network, creating a versatile ecosystem and increasing utility.
The BTCS mining process is enhanced through Bitcoin Spark’s proprietary consensus mechanism, Proof-of-Process (PoP). This all-new blockchain technology rewards miner for confirming blocks and renting out their mining devices’ processing power to the network. The Proof-of-Process is designed as a cross between Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake thus, miners/validators are also required to provide a stake on the network. The PoP is used in combination with a unique algorithm to restrict linear rewards based on stake size or raw processing power to ensure a fairer distribution. Additionally, the mining and provision of processing power is done through a user-friendly Bitcoin Spark application that can be installed on any device, removing the massive barriers of entry associated with mining Bitcoin (BTC). The two-pronged benefit of this is increasing the number of miners/validators greatly increases the security of the network.
Bitcoin Spark also aims to provide its network participants with additional revenue. The network will include secondary revenue generation sources like advertising, with network participants receiving 50% of the revenue generated. BTCS holders will also be incentivized to police the ads, ensuring a trusted and community-driven advertising system.
Phase 1 of the Bitcoin Spark Initial Coin Offering (ICO) sells BTCS at $1.50 and offers a 20% bonus on top. The ICO presents an alluring prospect for users seeking to participate in the evolution of the Bitcoin family. And crypto watchers like Fomotion highlight Bitcoin Spark as an opportunity for those who missed out on acquiring Bitcoin (BTC) in its early days.
For more information on Bitcoin Spark:
Website: https://bitcoinspark.org/
Buy BTCS: https://network.bitcoinspark.org/register
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