SegWit Bitcoin Network Adoption Reaches 66% After BitMEX Upgrade

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More Bitcoin (BTC) transactions now use so-called separate witness (“SegWit”) technology than ever before, according to the latest data.

According to various resources, including SegWit.Space, protocol adoption reached up to 66% of all Bitcoin transactions as of January 4.

Two out of three BTC payments now SegWit

The volume saw a significant increase at the end of 2019, going from around 40% in September to almost 60% in October.

Statistics, however, are subject to variation. SegWit.Space, a dedicated monitoring resource, lists the current SegWit spread at 66%. Other graphics, such as chargesdetransaction.info and Woobull, the data resource of statistician Willy Woo, currently puts the figure at around 59%.

All three nonetheless agree on the overall very bullish trend for SegWit, which has had a long road to acceptance since its release in 2017.

Growth of Bitcoin network SegWit transactions. Source: SegWit.Space

Exchanges of latecomers arrive on board

Designed to increase the speed and efficiency of Bitcoin transactions and reduce their volume, SegWit initially experienced a slow implementation. Bitcoin supporters have argued that exchanges reluctant to make an effort to adopt the technology are putting unnecessary strain on the Bitcoin network.

Binance, one of the world’s largest exchanges by volume, has yet to be upgraded and is still using the old Bitcoin addresses.

The CEO of the platform, Changpeng Zhao, known as “CZ” in crypto circles, claims in May of last year that the developers would work on fixing the problem. In October, famous Bitcoin supporter Udi Wertheimer even pledged to personally advertise Binance if SegWit appeared.

Another heavyweight in the stock market, derivatives giant BitMEX, added native SegWit support to its operations last month.


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