Under a hard fork, Bitmain would create an entirely new version of the bitcoin blockchain, resulting in an entirely new bitcoin currency, separate from the original currency.
NEW YORK: Bitcoin fell to a three-week low on Thursday as investors took profits partly in response to a bearish report from Goldman Sachs as well as concerns about a Chinese bitcoin miner's plan to undertake a "hard fork" that will result in a split in the digital currency.
The virtual currency relies on "mining" computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. The first to solve the puzzle and clear the transaction is rewarded with new bitcoins.
