The adjustment of the bitcoin mining difficulty marks the beginning of the first phase of activating the test of the Taproot upgrade. An upgrade that is perhaps the largest and most important in the bitcoin network for several years and which aims to make multi-signature trading cheaper, more ‘private’ and procedurally easier.
The miners who want to signal their support for this upgrade, include special data, the so-called ‘signal bits’ in the sectors (blocks) they mine. If 90% of the blocks mined during this period of difficulty and the rest of the periods of difficulty, each covering a period of about two weeks, until August 11, then we can say that the upgrade will be confirmed or as many like to say it will be ‘locked’. This will mean its final activation next November.
The above process is nothing more and nothing less than a process of approving the proposed changes to the bitcoin code. In the bitcoin network, nothing can be changed unilaterally. This network is decentralised, which means that coordination from the global database of its users is needed to make substantial changes to its code, as well as intensive coordination between stakeholders to develop these changes.
If all goes well, and of course this upgrade is approved, Taproot will be activated before the coming Christmas season. Otherwise, that is, if the approval signal is not achieved from 90% by the final date, then everything is cancelled and we return to the discussions and ferment for new plans and plans.
There generally do not seem to be any serious objections to the activation of the Taproot upgrade by the mining community. As Bitcoin Core developer Ben Carman puts it: “Activation is more likely to ‘pass’ during the second period of difficulty of miners, while now only 90% is required.”