SegWit is one of the Bitcoin protocol updates submitted for consideration by the Bitcoin Core development team, and after approval, it was successfully implemented. The main problem that this technology solves is optimizing the block size, which makes it easier to scale the network and prevent blocks from being overcrowded with transactions. As a result, this positively affects the speed of payment validation and, accordingly, a reduction in the commission size.

Operating principle

The essence of the Segregated Witness update is that through this mechanism, transactions and data of “witnesses” are separated, which also considers digital signatures. That is, this change slightly adjusted the transaction format - it received a new field. However, some data, such as public keys, signatures, and other elements, are not considered when determining the block size. Thanks to this, a certain volume is released in the block.

Despite the introduction of SegWit, debates regarding its feasibility are still ongoing. Moreover, this update became one of the factors that directly influenced the formation of Bitcoin Cash. Some users are still of the opinion that this update is too complex and poses potential risks and security risks.