Welcome to Hardfork 20! [Updates and FAQ]

What's a Hardfork?

It ain't just cutlery folks. Hardforks are a big deal in the blockchain world.

A "hardfork" is a special event when a community of stakeholders decide on a change (or set of changes) to a blockchain. In this case, Steem (the blockchain) just implemented Hardfork 20. As a result, all of the applications that Steem fuels (apps we know and love like Steemit, DTube, Busy, eSteem, Steepshot etc.) are directly impacted as new rules propagate through the network.

This is what makes blockchains very exciting and dynamic - they are living, breathing, open-source social experiments and always subject to change. If a community feels an algorithm is unfair or discovers a new batch of code that can make that blockchain more efficient - a hardfork can be scheduled. For Steem - this is a BIG one. With an eye on the long term, HF20 will allow Steem to scale up and onboard more users more efficiently.

So what's up with HF20?

There are a lot of changes packed into Steem's 20th Hardfork, codenamed Velocity. We'll do our best to unpack a handful of them for you below:

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Read the full official announcement by @steemitblog, here.

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Hardfork Fast Facts:

• You can now comment every 3 seconds (previously 20 seconds)
• You can call back delegated Steem Power in 5 days (previously 7 days)
• The "curation window" is now 15 minutes (previously 30 minutes)
• Self voting (voting on your own post) is now harder to abuse
• SBD debt ratio is changing. "Steem Blockchain Dollars" are designed to be pegged to the value of $1.00 USD. This new logic will assist in making SBD more stable.

Most importantly...

• You no longer need to delegate Steem Power to generate new accounts. (Previously you needed to delegate ~ 14 Steem Power to generate an account). A new system called Resource Credits was just implemented, allowing accounts to use credits to mint new @usernames.

Neat! So, what now?

Over the next few days, the blockchain will re-balance itself according to the new rules embedded in Hardfork 20. For you and me, that means upvotes, blog posts and comments might not process properly. Many of you have already received a message stating - "You've run out of Resource Credits" (below) - but no need to panic. Be patient. Let the new version of Steem settle in a bit. Then you can get back to Steeming :)

Looking Long Term

Prior to HF20, account creation was a tremendous cost for DApp owners. Onboarding just 1 new user would cost ~14 Steem in delegation. Yowza! The delegator could always call that 14 Steem back. But if that were to happen, the new user wouldn't be able to perform any actions on the blockchain (upvotes, comments, posts, etc.) The new system relies on Credits, not precious Steem Power. So the millions (maybe?) of Steem currently wrapped up or reserved to generate new accounts are effectively now open to be used for curating and delegating to initiatives. Applications like Steemit and DTube can now leverage newfound Credits for the sole purpose of onboarding newcomers, while activating previously-reserved Steem Power to support content creators and projects.

While this Hardfork is functionally about improving the account creation process, we believe it will also have a huge impact on the future of curation and community building across the network.

Steem on!

^{Empower artists, writers, musicians, non-profits and community initiatives - delegate Steem Power to @sndbox (using the links below) or follow our curation trail. Learn more about Sndbox - watch our introduction, here.}

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