Hard forks play an integral role in the cryptocurrency world. They are often used to introduce groundbreaking changes and features. To monitor the upcoming forks of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, BitMEX has set up a new site. Known as ForkMonitor, it keeps everyone up-to-date regarding new developments across both ecosystems.

Why ForkMonitor Matters

The cryptocurrency world is home to many different projects. As such, hard forks have become a lot more common over the years. Bitcoin itself half goes through such a fork. The last time it happened, Bitcoin Cash lived on as a separate chain and ecosystem. It is now BCH’s time to introduce a somewhat controversial fork which can end up splitting the network. As such, there is some initial confusion and controversy to contend with.

ForkMonitor is designed to offer some clarity in this department. It tracks forks affecting both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash alike. It is evident the upcoming BCH fork will cause some minor disruption come November 15th. Based on current indicators, two different chains may emerge as viable. One is the BCH people know today, whereas the other will support Craig Wright’s vision.

ForkMonitor will serve another purpose as well. It lets users monitor the split and fork as it happens at any given time. This also helps users determine when it is safe to use the network again. When a fork occurs, transacting funds needs to be avoided at all costs. Failure to do so may result in a loss of funds, which is something to avoid.

A Slight Favoritism Toward Bitcoin Cash

Avid visitors of ForkMonitor may notice a peculiar trend. The site relies on multiple network nodes across the BTC and BCH chain alike. In the case of Bitcoin, it uses just five nodes. For Bitcoin Cash, eight connected nodes are monitored at all times. This shows a slight bias toward BCH, although BitMEX acknowledges as much in their blog post.

Given the current circumstances, that is only normal. Monitoring Bitcoin Cash’s upcoming fork makes a lot of sense. Bitcoin itself is not slated to undergo any major changes through hard forks in the foreseeable future. BitMEX plans to shift its focus more toward Bitcoin after the November fork is completed. Keeping the playing field level is always a viable course of action.

The upcoming hard fork has divided the Bitcoin Cash community somewhat. Not everyone agrees with Bitcoin ABC or Craig Wright’s nChain. As such, it remains unclear if one, two, or even three viable chains will emerge when everything is said and done. For the main chain, the network upgrades make the ecosystem even more robust and viable for the long term.

Which Bitcoin Cash hard fork do you favor? Are you taking advantage of both? Let us know in the comments below.

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