Security is the most important feature to look at when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has proven time and time again to be the most secure network, powered by a social consensus mechanism.
However, Bitcoin’s security feature was once again subjected to a critical test, to which it responded quickly.
What would this mean for its safety and, in turn, for the overall long-term trend?
Mount Gox’s Bitcoin hard fork proposal dies in hours
According to one post by CoinMarketCapex-Mount Gox CEO Mark Karpeles proposed a hard fork for Bitcoin [BTC] on February 27, who died in just 17 hours.
The proposal was to redirect 79,956 BTC from a dormant address linked to the 2011 hack to a designated recovery address controlled by the Mount Gox trustee.
Karpeles was referring to the 2016 DAO fork for Ethereum [ETH]that clawed back money but created Ethereum Classic [ETC].
If adopted, this proposal would validate the spending of the stolen coins without the original private keys. So it would compromise the security of the network as this could happen even on coins that are not necessarily stolen.
During the process, the network would undergo a rigorous upgrade of its software. However, the community rejected it so quickly because they saw it as an exception to “code is law” and immutability as dangerous even for a clear theft case.
Community responds
The community, which represented the social consensus in which Bitcoin operates, was quick to criticize this move.
For example, Vypex CTO Eric Hall said,
“Proposing to hard fork Bitcoin is like asking the ocean to move because you built your house on the beach. Guts met reality and reality didn’t even take a full day to react.”
Another one added,
“Proposing a hard fork to reallocate dormant BTC opens a dangerous precedent. Once you rewrite history, Bitcoin’s immutability narrative begins to crack.”
The community’s response reinforced Bitcoin’s power in the social consensus for security by rejecting the rewriting of history.
What’s next if BTC answers the stress test question?
This quick denial of a potential compromise to the security of the Bitcoin network supported an earlier analysis. This analysis found that Bitcoin’s structure ensured that no donor could change the code, regardless of their wealth or fame.
Meanwhile, the price action remained above the USD 65,000 level.
This was a decline on the day, with a capitalization of $1.33 trillion, five times that of second-place Ethereum. The results showed that BTC is still the leading global reserve asset in the crypto markets.
Final summary
- Mount Gox’s proposal that could compromise Bitcoin’s security dies in hours.
- Bitcoin’s community proved strong in the social consensus mechanism for BTC’s security.