Bitcoin Core has made a major release which essentially allows users to take advantage of the new Segregated Witness (Segwit) developments.
Segwit was initially started in November 2017 and now has had a major release that will further develop the system and hopefully enable faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions. The release comes at a contentious time as Coinbase has started to enable Segwit capabilities in its system.
Bitcoin Core version 0.16.0 is a major release that is focused mainly on Segwit advances. The release stands out from other previous releases because it has introduced major changes and has a single theme that glues the entire release together. The focus on Segwit for this release really shows that Bitcoin Core has a clear focus on scalability with their network.
The latest release is about allowing users to take advantage of the new Segwit features. The last major Segwit release was focused primarily on introducing Segwit to the system without having everything fall apart.
When Bitcoin Core started SegWit in November 2016 there was much disagreement about whether it should stay or go. Many of the detractors of the release have since moved to Bitcoin Cash in an effort to create a competing cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin Cash community have suggested that larger blocks are necessary for keeping the transaction costs down.
The release of 0.16.0 may be especially timely as it may arrive in time for the next Bitcoin ‘bull run’ that some analysts believe will happen soon. The release, further, may drop the transaction charges and latency periods as these have also been a hot topic amongst detractors as well. As of late, Bitcoin transaction costs have become unsustainable for some traders and have forced consumers to seek other options in terms of trading.
