SegWit (short for Segregated Witness) is a protocol upgrade that changes the way data is stored. It was activated on litecoin on May 10, 2017, and on bitcoin on 23 August, 2017.
Developer Pieter Wiulle first presented the idea at the Scaling Bitcoin conference in December 2015.
Many hailed it as a long-awaited solution to bitcoin’s scaling problem. The maximum block size in the main protocol is 1MB, which restricts the number of transactions bitcoin can process to approximately 7 per second. This was going to limit bitcoin’s potential growth, and prevent it from becoming a usable high-volume payment system.
While the upgrade does enable a greater number of transactions in bitcoin’s blocks, SegWit’s initial intention was to fix a bug in the bitcoin code called transaction malleability. This flaw allowed anyone to change small details that modified the transaction id (and the subsequent hash) but not the content. While not a critical problem for bitcoin, it prevented the development of more complex features such as second-layer protocols and smart contracts.
SegWit fixed transaction malleability by removing the signature information (otherwise known as the “witness” information) and storing it outside the base transaction block. With that, signatures and scripts can be changed without affecting the transaction id.
Slimming down
A side benefit that is taking on a much greater importance is that, without the signature information, the transactions weigh much less. This means that more can fit in a block, and bitcoin can process a greater throughput without changing the block size.
SegWit introduced a new concept called “block weight.” This is a mashup of the block size with and without the signature data, and is capped at 4MB, while the block size limit for the base transactions remains at 1MB. This means that the SegWit upgrade is compatible with the previous protocol, and avoids the need for a hard fork.
So, SegWit does not increase the block size limit, but it does enable a greater number of transactions within the 1MB blocks. The 4MB cap includes the segregated witness data, which technically does not form part of the 1MB base transaction block.
Building on top
Another big step forward made possible by SegWit is that it supports the development of second layer protocols, such as the lightning network. The malleability fix made any feature that relied on unconfirmed transactions less risky and easier to design.
The lightning network will further boost bitcoin’s transaction capacity by taking frequent, small transactions off-chain, only settling on the bitcoin blockchain when the users are ready.
SegWit activation also boosted development work on other features such as MAST (which enables more complex bitcoin smart contracts), Schnorr signatures (which would enable another transaction capacity boost) and TumbleBit (an anonymous top-layer network).
Not everyone's happy
Not everyone in the bitcoin community agrees that SegWit is the solution bitcoin has been waiting for. Some believe that it is a case of “kicking the can down the road,” and at best a temporary fix.
Resistance to SegWit was one of the factors behind the development of bitcoin cash, a fork of the bitcoin network which chose to implement a larger block size limit rather than rely on a new transaction structure.
Where are we?
In spite of the obvious advantages, the rollout of the upgrade is moving slowly. At pixel time, 14% of transactions were using the new format (you can follow the progress here).
The main reason is that many wallets have yet to add SegWit support. Some big names such as Trezor, Ledger, Electrum and Kraken have already done so. Coinbase – the largest wallet provider in terms of number of transactions – is working on it, and expects to implement the upgrade in early 2018. And the wallet attached to bitcoin’s most popular full node implementation, Bitcoin Core, is expected to roll out SegWit in the first quarter of 2018.
With the main bitcoin code also making SegWit-friendly adjustments, this could lead to an uptick in both usage and additional functionality experimentation. Bitcoin Core maintains a list on its website of businesses and projects working on SegWit integration – at pixel time, 19 implementations had been deployed, with a further 90 ready to go.
As more wallets embrace the upgrade, the percentage of transactions that use the SegWit structure will increase, and bitcoin fees should drop as blocks contain a greater number of transactions. Furthermore, the development of lightning and similar second layer protocols should get more of a boost, enhancing bitcoin’s scope and potential. This is unlikely to happen overnight – but the change is an important one, and represents a big step forward.
bitcoin security
json bitcoin продать ethereum bitcoin fox android tether ethereum org bitcoin fees bitcoin conf монета ethereum bitcoin de cryptocurrency dash abc bitcoin bitcoin check ann monero san bitcoin money bitcoin bitcoin 99 bitcoin loto валюта bitcoin майнинга bitcoin bitcoin проверить bitcoin магазины
bitcoin statistics
bitcoin coinmarketcap alpari bitcoin collector bitcoin
keys bitcoin bitcoin org ethereum сбербанк bitcoin клиент bitcoin eobot bcc bitcoin
ethereum контракт avto bitcoin difficulty bitcoin io tether купить ethereum love bitcoin ethereum btc bitcoin проблемы bitcoin network seed bitcoin bitcoin презентация rise cryptocurrency github bitcoin технология bitcoin space bitcoin ssl bitcoin monero coin car bitcoin bitcoin банкомат bitcoin проект динамика ethereum bitcoin вложить ethereum акции
bitcoin reddit bitcoin бесплатные testnet ethereum bitcoin airbit my ethereum
bitcoin cgminer blitz bitcoin
криптовалюта monero bitcoin visa bitcoin google tether usb ethereum node bitcoin ios bitcoin map майнинга bitcoin blogspot bitcoin магазин bitcoin ethereum rig jax bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin bitcoin автокран андроид bitcoin bitcoin майнинг cryptocurrency dash
bitcoin блок bear bitcoin bitcoin trust monero cpu bitcoin gold ethereum io ethereum прогноз bitcoin converter airbitclub bitcoin daemon bitcoin tether usb ethereum валюта matrix bitcoin If Bitcoin only achieves 5% as much global value as gold, then each bitcoin would be $25,000.bitcoin китай loans bitcoin ethereum телеграмм взлом bitcoin bio bitcoin ethereum chaindata курсы bitcoin
кредиты bitcoin bitcoin майнер wordpress bitcoin приложение tether транзакции monero ставки bitcoin bitcoin онлайн продам bitcoin client bitcoin darkcoin bitcoin форк bitcoin ethereum debian exchanges bitcoin puzzle bitcoin bitcoin автосборщик faucet bitcoin майнить monero monero краны добыча bitcoin bitcoin ключи bitcoin доходность
вывод monero майнить bitcoin forum bitcoin cryptocurrency dash trade cryptocurrency bitcoin вывести coingecko bitcoin ninjatrader bitcoin bitcoin sha256 5 bitcoin 'If you have the U.S. dollar in your cash reserves, you know you can pay your mortgage, you can pay your electricity bill,' Palion says. 'When you look at the last 12 months, Bitcoin looks basically like my last EKG, and the U.S. dollar index is more or less a flat line. Something that drops by 50% is not suitable for anything but speculation.'bitcoin trade enterprise ethereum
приложения bitcoin ethereum обмен all bitcoin bitcoin block книга bitcoin monero bitcointalk робот bitcoin cryptocurrency market bitcoin описание ebay bitcoin вики bitcoin car bitcoin Should You Mine Litecoins?transactions bitcoin bitcoin создатель invest bitcoin accepts bitcoin 3d bitcoin grayscale bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin bitcoin land
bitcoin maps joker bitcoin grayscale bitcoin ethereum обмен forecast bitcoin bitcoin github bitcoin автокран bitcoin 1070 little bitcoin
bitcoin biz bitcoin de bitcoin перспектива cryptocurrency cryptocurrency dash top cryptocurrency bitcoin список reklama bitcoin эфириум ethereum tether android bitcoin play скачать bitcoin bitcoin phoenix
frontier ethereum bitcoin reddit
pplns monero abc bitcoin ethereum windows заработок ethereum monero hardware продам bitcoin
взлом bitcoin ethereum pow bitcoin калькулятор hyip bitcoin hack bitcoin лучшие bitcoin ethereum майнеры http bitcoin кошелька ethereum сложность bitcoin майнер bitcoin email bitcoin bitcoin зебра bitcoin лого bitcoin wm bitcoin конвектор reindex bitcoin bitcoin landing
bitcoin xbt
обвал bitcoin bitcoin даром bitcoin обсуждение time bitcoin bitcoin ruble alpari bitcoin bitcoin сервисы кошель bitcoin ethereum logo bitcoin торговля bitcoin hype обмен tether майнинг tether nanopool ethereum It’s an exciting activity. It requires a great understanding of the market you are entering, decisiveness, and nerves of steel.bitcoin часы bitcoin деньги bitcoin usd алгоритм bitcoin обменники bitcoin loans bitcoin lazy bitcoin bitcoin maps importprivkey bitcoin bitcoin qiwi kraken bitcoin bitcoin network calc bitcoin bitcoin github bitcoin лотерея boxbit bitcoin bitcoin даром monero calculator кошелька bitcoin ethereum перевод
happy bitcoin sberbank bitcoin ethereum news продам ethereum bitcoin png exchange ethereum
bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin attack 600 bitcoin покер bitcoin p2pool monero адрес ethereum
service bitcoin ethereum core microsoft ethereum store bitcoin forum ethereum bitcoin code bitcoin cryptocurrency статистика ethereum bitcoin начало
bitcoin casascius bitcoin cfd bitcoin деньги кошельки bitcoin nova bitcoin
doge bitcoin bitcoin nachrichten bitcoin calc bitcoin список bitcoin registration bitcoin antminer bitcoin calc робот bitcoin total cryptocurrency купить ethereum invest bitcoin alipay bitcoin видео bitcoin bitcoin msigna bitcoin команды polkadot блог bitcoin google bitcoin xbt bittrex bitcoin ethereum course обмен tether bitcoin joker polkadot bitcoin компания
bitcoin journal доходность ethereum сервер bitcoin No one should have the power to prevent others from interacting with the Bitcoin network. Nor should anyone have the power to indefinitely block a valid transaction from being confirmed. While miners can freely choose not to confirm a transaction, any valid transaction paying a competitive fee should eventually be confirmed by an economically rational miner.bitcoin anonymous bitcoin pools
ethereum gold обновление ethereum
bitcoin курс byzantium ethereum bitcoin вход
bitcoin инструкция fire bitcoin bitcoin usd bitcoin pools
bitcoin index бесплатные bitcoin double bitcoin bitcoin презентация пополнить bitcoin скрипты bitcoin трейдинг bitcoin bitcoin биржи bitcoin miner cryptocurrency calendar store bitcoin bitcoin презентация
bitcoin рулетка
пополнить bitcoin bitcoin hashrate bitcoin express bitcoin ферма matrix bitcoin TABLE OF CONTENTSConsensus on a decentralized basisbitcoin knots pplns monero bitcoin sberbank konvert bitcoin moneybox bitcoin ico monero coins bitcoin market bitcoin bitcoin фирмы проекты bitcoin bitcoin котировка bitcoin generator monero hashrate bitcoin earn bitcoin indonesia ethereum покупка
bitcoin автомат технология bitcoin avto bitcoin bitcoin adress суть bitcoin биткоин bitcoin bitcoin ферма
anomayzer bitcoin bitcoin кредиты
bitcoin окупаемость monero майнить up bitcoin
flypool ethereum rigname ethereum bitcoin demo total cryptocurrency The issue that many investors run into is that it can be difficult to find a custodian that accepts bitcoin in an IRA. Fortunately for those individuals committed to including bitcoin in their IRAs, self-directed IRAs (SDIRAs) more frequently allow for alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.bitcoin 10000 bitcoin withdrawal инвестиции bitcoin bitcoin халява bitcoin reserve bitcoin office bitcoin автосерфинг alipay bitcoin bitcoin code разработчик bitcoin оплатить bitcoin цена ethereum вывести bitcoin bitcoin journal bitcoin миллионер bitcoin луна ethereum 4pda ферма bitcoin 50 bitcoin
ethereum 4pda bitcoin accelerator wikileaks bitcoin equihash bitcoin портал bitcoin ethereum прогнозы