A hard fork refers to a radical change in the protocol of a blockchain network that effectively results in two branches, one following the previous protocol and one following the new version.
In the event of a hard fork, token holders on the original blockchain will also be granted tokens on the new fork, but miners will have to choose which blockchain to proceed with.
A hard fork can occur on any blockchain, not just Bitcoin (for example, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV were created as a result of a hard fork).
Blockchain is a type of shared database that differs from a regular database in how it stores information; Blockchains store data in blocks, which are then linked to each other using cryptography.
Hyperledger is an open source community dedicated to developing a set of stable frameworks, tools and libraries for permissioned enterprise-grade blockchain deployment.
Hyperledger composer is a business-oriented set of tools for creating enterprise blockchain applications under the auspices of the Hyperledger project.
Hyperledger Explorer is a user-friendly web application tool used to view or access transactions, digital wallets, and other information stored on a Hyperledger blockchain deployment.
Hyperledger Sawtooth is an open-source enterprise blockchain-as-a-service platform that can run customized smart contracts without the need to know the underlying structure of the underlying system.
Lightning Network is a technological solution designed to solve the problem of transaction speed in the Bitcoin blockchain by introducing off-chain transactions.
Proof of Work (PoW) is a decentralized consensus mechanism that requires network participants to make an effort to solve an arbitrary mathematical puzzle so that no one can fool the system.
Smart contracts are self-executing lines of code in which the terms of an agreement between a buyer and a seller are automatically verified and executed over a computer network.
— Nick Szabo, American computer scientist who invented a virtual currency called “Bit Gold” in 1998,