Hard Fork

A hard fork on Bitcoin can be thought of as a literal “fork in the road”.

The blockchain is doing its thing, processing transactions as per its protocol when a split occurs and two different chains exist, the new one and the old one. This splitting is known as a hard fork and often results from disagreements on how the original protocol should operate. 

There have been many of these disputes over Bitcoin’s history but the newer chains haven’t caught on and the open market has decided that Bitcoin’s unchanged protocol is the main one they want – seems they have chosen wisely if you ask us!