BITCOIN UPGRADED.
On 24 August 2017, Segregated Witness, or SegWit, activated on Bitcoin at block 481,824. The soft-fork upgrade changed how transactions carry validation data and how block capacity is measured, while continuing Bitcoin's existing chain.
SegWit moved signatures and related validation data into a separate witness structure. That witness remains part of Bitcoin's blockchain and is cryptographically committed through the block's coinbase transaction. Separating it from the data used to calculate a transaction's ID did not mean moving it off-chain.
For transactions spending only SegWit inputs, the upgrade fixed nonintentional transaction-ID malleability: changing a signature could no longer change the txid. This made it easier to build reliable chains of unconfirmed transactions, an important foundation for payment-channel systems such as Lightning.
SegWit also introduced a limit of 4,000,000 weight units per block. Base data counts four units per byte; witness data counts one. The extra usable capacity depends on the transaction mix. It is not a promise of four megabytes of ordinary transaction data or four times as many payments.
The two bulls show Bitcoin before and after the upgrade. The smaller bull carries bundled paperwork; the larger one separates gold transaction tiles from blue witness channels. They represent one network evolving, not two rival coins. The lightning hints at technology built on that foundation later, and the stronger form makes no promise about price.
Sources & the artist’s interpretation
Sources: BIP 141: Segregated Witness ; Bitcoin Core: mainnet activation height ; Block 481,824 record ; Bitcoin Core: SegWit benefits ; Lightning Labs: lnd mainnet beta . The bulls, armour, channels and storm are visual metaphors. BITCOIN UPGRADED. is editorial wording, not a quotation or a price prediction. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.
