Hard Forks of 2023

Although many are not able to recall massive blockchain upgrades since Ethereum 2.0, the technology continues to slowly but surely develop in the background. In addition to performance, blockchains are also focusing towards security, scalability, easy-adoption and special purpose applications, such as sidechains and layer 2 solutions. 

Many upcoming hard fork updates are rather technical in nature, but learning about them still gives a basic idea of where technology is heading and what new or improved concepts we might be expecting in the field of crypto in the future. 

Horizen hard fork

Horizen (ZEN) is a privacy-oriented blockchain ecosystem that is mainly used by third parties to develop all kinds of sidechains. The upgrade on June 7 was necessary to eradicate a number of known bugs that existed in the previous version. The upgrade also aims to improve scalability and performance, which will hopefully help Horizen to attract more users. Here are the additional features that were implemented with the update: 

Talking about the core bugfixes and changes, the Horizen team completed the following points: 

1. Resolved an issue that previously caused the build procedure to fail when the project folder's path was excessively long. This fix ensures smoother and error-free building processes, eliminating a frustrating obstacle.
2. Provided a greater flexibility in its continuous integration (CI) system, specifically on the Travis CI platform. Users now can dynamically enable or disable the MacOS build for specific branches.
3. Addressed the problem related to the z_mergetoaddress RPC command. Users can now execute this command confidently, without worrying about transaction validity issues.
4. Introduced the use of Travis cache for compiling zend dependencies. This optimization significantly speeds up the CI process.
5. Updated its MC Crypto Lib dependency to version 0.3.0-rc1, incorporating the latest advancements and security enhancements into the platform.
6. The documentation and security information have been thoroughly reviewed and updated, offering users the most up-to-date and comprehensive guidance.

If you are interested to check out the full list of changes, make sure to visit the Horizen’s github here. 

BNB Luban hard fork

The Luban Hardfork has arrived to the famous BNB blockchain. It came at a time when the BNB token is not doing very well. In fact, its value has declined more than 20% since the start of June and CZ has been accused of using shady tactics to try and artificially stabilize the price of BNB. The upgrade was deployed on June 12, 2023:

The update brings 3 key developments:

1. BEP-126
   The so-called “fast finality mechanism” aims to fasten the speed of finalization of transactions from 45 to about 7,5 seconds. This feature also guarantees that once a block is finalized on the network, it becomes utterly immutable and cannot be reversed under any circumstances. By eliminating the possibility of chain reorganization, even in the unlikely event of malicious actors attempting to disrupt the network, the integrity and security of the blockchain are significantly enhanced. This advancement in blockchain technology provides users with a robust and trustworthy environment for their transactions and data, ensuring that the network remains resilient and resistant to manipulation.
2. BEP-174
   Addressing the significant security concerns surrounding the BSC Bridge, it aims to fortify the bridge's defenses and safeguard against potential attacks.
   Central to the smooth operation of token transfers across different blockchains are the relayers, on-chain messengers that play a vital role in facilitating secure transactions. Currently, the process of adding these relayers involves a complex manual procedure, often requiring whitelisting of specific entities. 
   However, with the implementation of BEP-174, a transformative concept comes into play. Introducing "managers" for relayers, selected through on-chain governance, offers a dynamic and adaptable approach. These managers assume the responsibility of overseeing the registration of individual relayers, ensuring streamlined management and providing the ability to swiftly add or remove relayers during potential crises or critical situations. 
3. BEP-221
   The third and last modification will make changes in the Light Block Validation process. It’s proposed to enable clients to verify light blocks without needing to download the entire blockchain data.

The official Binance post is available here if you’d like to check out the announcement. Make sure to do this if you are an active Binance user, own some BNB or if you are a full node operator. 

Other notable hard forks of this year

1. The Ethereum (ETH) blockchain is already preparing for the “Dencun” upgrade, which might go live sometime near the end of the year. The upgrade aims to scale the blockchain and further reduce layer 2 fees. It will include changes to data storage and the EVM code. However, the core focus is on the new technology introduction for blockchain transactions called Proto-Danksharding. 
2. It is worth noting that deploying new hard forks do not always go as intended. For example, the Dash (DASH) blockchain crashed in May after an unsuccessful hard fork, and all changes had to be reversed. The next attempt to deploy the Dash Core V19 upgrade will be in June, hopefully this time without complications.
3. The popular POS blockchain, Solana (SOL), was also rumored to plan a new hard fork this summer, but so far this gossip has proven to be not true. The changes were believed to be an attempt to ease tensions with SEC, which has labeled the token as a “security”, causing a multitude of problems for SOL. However, several inside sources stated that no crucial updates are planned on the blockchain at the moment.

Conclusion

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, the year 2023 promises to be a pivotal time with a series of anticipated hard forks that will play an important role in shaping the future of blockchains. These upcoming forks symbolize the relentless pursuit of innovation and progress within the crypto community, as developers and enthusiasts continue to push the boundaries of what is possible. 

With each fork, we witness the resilience of the crypto space, as it adapts and evolves to meet the ever-growing demands of a changing crypto sector. SimpleSwap will definitely keep an eye on such upgrades and bring you the freshest information possible. Stay tuned!

SimpleSwap reminds you that this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not provide investment advice. All purchases and cryptocurrency investments are your own responsibility.