Forkology: A Study of Forks for Newbies

Sponsored by: BitRocket.co, Optiver, Veredictum.io, BitPOS.me, and Get Paid In Bitcoin AU

In this talk, Andreas introduces newcomers to the emerging scientific speciality of “forkology,” or the study of forks, how blockchain ecosystems change over time, and the game theory of competing consensus models. He covers not only the various types of forks but the agents involved in consensus evolution, grappling in this crazy new world where the traditional menus will no longer do.

This talk took place on June 6th 2017 at a joint meet-up with Blockchain Professionals, BitcoinSYD and SydEthereum in Sydney, Australia: https://antonopoulos.com/event/blockchain-professionals-sydney/

TOPICS:
0:38 – The journey into open public blockchains
2:30 – Price increase brings newbies to the rabbit hole
3:45 – The confusing landscape of forks
4:27 – What is a fork? A divergence in perspective
6:08 – No central authority to determine everyone’s perspective
7:40 – Growing the chain, block by block
8:45 – Accidental vs. deliberate forks, 51% attacks
9:35 – Hard forks vs. soft forks and changes to consensus rules
11:15 – Open blockchain ecosystems as restaurants
15:05 – No one’s in charge, but everyone has to work together
15:42 – Miner-activated vs. user-activated forks
16:25 – User-activated soft fork (UASF) or BIP148
18:28 – Tensions around assertions of power
19:35 – Forking event: risks of double-spend, wipeout, two Bitcoins
24:15 – A game of chicken, throwing the steering wheel away
25:18 – This sounds crazy! Is it all worth it?

QUESTION & ANSWER:
Scaling is a moving target – https://youtu.be/pT9kJq_Ogrk
ICOs and financial regulation – https://youtu.be/Plu_WX3Gs8E
Is Bitcoin a democracy? – https://youtu.be/TC3Hq76UT5g
Global financial crisis (GFC) – https://youtu.be/JU3gNC_ZPKM

RELATED:
What is a fork? – https://youtu.be/QwEDtdkV3Q4
What happens to our bitcoins during a hard fork? – https://youtu.be/sNR76fWd7-0
The dangers of hard forks in protocol evolution – https://youtu.be/vxEHRvhJKvA
Hard forks and the cultural mulligan – https://youtu.be/KT-7APasANI
Open source as cross-pollination & consensus through collaboration – https://youtu.be/JTHV6PA-Dw8
The Lion and the Shark: Divergent Evolution in Cryptocurrency – https://youtu.be/d0x6CtD8iq4
Bitcoin: A new species of money – an evolutionary perspective on currency – https://youtu.be/G-25w7Zh8zk
Evolving layered technologies in cryptocurrecy – https://youtu.be/13Iff4d3p3k
The Scaling Rites of Passage – https://youtu.be/rZi86_ovB3Y
Ethereum: Consensus vs. Immutability – https://youtu.be/OGGW9ozE-ys
LTB Live: TheDAO, ETH, Soft-Fork, DoS and what’s next – https://youtu.be/epWjD6mlBVs
Unlimited vs. Cypherpunks – https://youtu.be/5adgo4-32HU

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and well-respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042

[NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388

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Outro Music: “Unbounded” by Orfan (https://www.facebook.com/Orfan/)
Outro Graphics: Phneep (https://www.phneep.com/)
Outro Art: Rock Barcellos (https://www.rockincomics.com.br/)