To better understand the hard-fork, let’s first look at the blockchain technology. A blockchain is a decentralized database that stores transactions in blocks. The blocks also contain a set or protocols which direct the way the blockchain network functions.

Due to the decentralized nature of the blockchain, any modifications made to transactions or instructions are communicated to all nodes to be approved. A hard fork must be created to make significant changes to a blockchain. This new blockchain will then need to be approved by all the nodes. When developing new projects, developers will choose blockchains on which a large number of nodes have agreed.

Hard forks are more common in all blockchains, even those beyond Bitcoin. Bitcoin, and all other cryptocurrencies, are supported by blockchain technology. Other crypto blockchains undergo hard forks, too, because they use the same blockchain as Bitcoin. If, for example, nodes or developers wish to make specific changes in the Blockchain, they can create a hard fork that contains all the updated rules. All nodes must accept the rules to implement the hard fork. Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold, two hard forks from Bitcoin, are examples.