Forks in blockchain networks are essentially splits. The network is open-source software, and the code can be freely used. This means that anyone can propose improvements and make changes to the code. The option to experiment with open-source software is a fundamental component of cryptocurrency and also contributes to the software updates of blockchains. Blockchain network forks are generally divided into hard forks and soft forks. A hard fork is a complete change to the software, requiring all users to upgrade to the latest version of the software. Nodes running on previous versions of the software will no longer be accepted by the new version. Soft forks are backward compatible. The upgraded blockchain is responsible for validating transactions. However, nodes that have not been updated will still see the new blocks as valid. This can only be done in one way; the upgraded blockchain will not recognize nodes that have not been updated. For a soft fork to work, most miners need to upgrade.