A term that often stirs up discussions is "Hard Fork". But what does this concept really mean and how does it impact the cryptocurrency universe?

At the heart of the most influential blockchains, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, lies the open and collaborative nature of their code. Anyone with programming skills can contribute and improve the protocol underpinning these decentralized platforms. However, when a significant change to the code is proposed, a crucial question arises: consensus.

A Hard Fork is an event that occurs when a major modification is made to a blockchain's code. Unlike minor updates, a Hard Fork introduces changes that are not backward-compatible. This means that the new version of the software is not compatible with the previous version, which can result in the creation of two independent blockchains.

The process of a Hard Fork can generate controversy within the community, as not all participants agree with the proposed changes. This can lead to a split in the community, where one part decides to adopt the new version of the software while the other part chooses to stick with the old version. As a result, two distinct coins are generated that share a common history up until the point of fork.

An iconic example of a Hard Fork is found in Bitcoin's history, which gave rise to Bitcoin Cash due to differences in scalability and block size. Similarly, Ethereum underwent a Hard Fork that led to the creation of Ethereum Classic, following a dispute over how to address a vulnerability in the code.