STAGE 5 · MASTERLEVEL · Advanced7 LESSONSABOUT 40 MINNETWORK & MINING
Bitcoin has no CEO, no foundation and no vote, yet it has upgraded many times. This course explains how, through the mechanisms and the history, and equips you to read the current debates. Seven lessons, about 50 minutes.
BY THE END OF THIS COURSE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
- Explain the BIP process and who actually decides
- Distinguish soft and hard forks and their activation methods
- Tell the story of the Blocksize War and what it settled
- Evaluate a proposed change by its trust and risk trade-offs
- Follow current debates with the right questions
Every lesson ends with a quiz or a challenge; the course is complete when each lesson is.
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LESSONS
01How changes happen: BIPs and the peopleChanges are proposed publicly as BIPs, reviewed, coded and released. They become rules only when node operators run them. Developers write; users decide.▶ 1✓ quiz6 MIN✓02Soft forks, hard forks and activationSoft forks make rules stricter and stay compatible; hard forks loosen them and split anyone who does not upgrade. Activation methods decide when and who enforces.✓ quiz6 MIN✓03The Blocksize WarFrom 2015 to 2017 big-block proposals backed by most miners and businesses tried to change Bitcoin. Node operators refused, enforced SegWit themselves, and won. It defined who rules.▶ 1✓ quiz8 MIN✓04Forks that became altcoinsBitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Gold and others forked the chain with changed rules. Each kept Bitcoin's history and lost its network. The market chose the original.✓ quiz5 MIN✓05Current debates: covenants, OP_CAT, inscriptionsCovenant proposals (CTV, OP_CAT and others) would let coins restrict their own future spending. Inscriptions and OP_RETURN limits are fights over what block space is for.✓ quiz7 MIN✓06Core, Knots and the client ecosystemBitcoin Core runs most nodes; Knots and others differ in policy, not consensus. Diversity is healthy as long as everyone agrees on what is valid.✓ quiz4 MIN✓07How to participateGovernance is not a spectator sport. Running a node is a vote; reading proposals is informed consent; testing and funding keep development independent.✓ quiz4 MIN✓