Segregated Witness (SegWit)
Segregated Witness, or SegWit for short, is a proposed software upgrade to the Bitcoin network that was first introduced in late 2015. It is designed to address various scalability issues and make transactions on the network more efficient. The upgrade involves separating signature data from transaction data so that more transactions can be stored in each block without increasing the size of blocks. This helps reduce overall blockchain bloat and speeds up transaction confirmation times by allowing miners to process more transactions per second. Additionally, SegWit makes it easier for developers to create new applications such as smart contracts and Lightning Network payments on top of the Bitcoin network.
The proposal was initially met with mixed reactions from both developers and users alike due to its complexity and potential implications for decentralization of the network due to larger blocks being created. However, after a period of discussion within the community, SegWit has been widely accepted as a necessary step forward for scaling up Bitcoin’s infrastructure; it is estimated that over 50% of all mining nodes have now started signaling support for this update since its activation on August 24th 2017. As more miners signal their support, SegWit will become increasingly available across different wallet providers making use of its benefits simpler than ever before!
