<p>No-one decides literally for everyone. Miners make the decision to exploit one proposal rather than another one, so whenever miners disagree and don't follow one protocol to around 100% then a fork happens. </p>

<p>In this case (of B2X) it is the proposal of Segwit2x that will or will not be followed. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-05T15:07:26.800Z
Miners make only one decision: whether to maximize profit by mining the most profitable chain or to lose money and eventually go out of business. Bcash clearly shows this in action: because of their buggy difficulty adjustments, there are short periods of time when it's a little more profitable. Otherwise it's a complete waste of electricity and even the loudest proponents of Bcash (Roger Ver) do not mine it.
Jannes
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-05T15:47:21.557Z
@Jannes well indeed it is supposed that miners maximise profit. But sometimes ideological factors can influence their behavior as seen by the proponent of the flippening. In the end rationality should be making the decision.
David
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-06T12:08:10.103Z
@Hollossy It's still unclear to me: how does somebody *propose* something? What is Segwit2x?
Ionică Bizău
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-05T12:57:04.937Z
2017-11-05T12:57:04.937Z
David
<p>I understand that there is no central authority on Bitcoin, but I can't understand who takes decisions on "forking" the blockchain.</p>

<p><a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/57497/47935">Here</a> it was mentioned that the "Bitcoin community voted"—how did that happen? Who is the community? I assume anyone? If so, how can one vote? </p>

<p>I was reading about a <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-24/here-comes-bitcoin-gold-bitcoin-rally-falters-latest-blockchain-hard-fork" rel="nofollow noreferrer">hard-fork coming on 16th of November</a> and I don't really understand how that works.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-05T22:33:54.347Z
That answer you're quoting is actually pretty horrendous and full of factual errors and confusing irrelevant details. No voting was involved, only signalling readiness.
Jannes
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-06T12:08:56.230Z
@Jannes But tho, it's accepted answer and quite upvoted. Shouldn't it be flagged/moderated in this case?
Ionică Bizău
<blockchain><community>
Who takes the decisions of "hard-forks" in the Bitcoin community?
Ionică Bizău
# Who takes the decisions of "hard-forks" in the Bitcoin community?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-05)

I understand that there is no central authority on Bitcoin, but I can't understand who takes decisions on "forking" the blockchain.

[Here](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/57497/47935) it was mentioned that the "Bitcoin community voted"—how did that happen? Who is the community? I assume anyone? If so, how can one vote?

I was reading about a [hard-fork coming on 16th of November](http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-24/here-comes-bitcoin-gold-bitcoin-rally-falters-latest-blockchain-hard-fork) and I don't really understand how that works.

**Tags:** blockchain, community

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: That answer you're quoting is actually pretty horrendous and full of factual errors and confusing irrelevant details. No voting was involved, only signalling readiness.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 But tho, it's accepted answer and quite upvoted. Shouldn't it be flagged/moderated in this case?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-11-05. Score: 2

No-one decides literally for everyone. Miners make the decision to exploit one proposal rather than another one, so whenever miners disagree and don't follow one protocol to around 100% then a fork happens.

In this case (of B2X) it is the proposal of Segwit2x that will or will not be followed.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Miners make only one decision: whether to maximize profit by mining the most profitable chain or to lose money and eventually go out of business. Bcash clearly shows this in action: because of their buggy difficulty adjustments, there are short periods of time when it's a little more profitable. Otherwise it's a complete waste of electricity and even the loudest proponents of Bcash (Roger Ver) do not mine it.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 well indeed it is supposed that miners maximise profit. But sometimes ideological factors can influence their behavior as seen by the proponent of the flippening. In the end rationality should be making the decision.  
> **username_0**: @Hollossy It's still unclear to me: how does somebody *propose* something? What is Segwit2x?  

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