Bitcoin has staged an impressive recovery from the weekend’s lows as a network hard fork begins to look improbable.
"Increasing miner support for BIP 91 - a road to SegWit activation without the need for a hard fork - has already gained 62 percent of the 80 percent required by July 31."
As the solution’s popularity grew Monday, so did Bitcoin price, rising from around the $2,000 support line to above $2,250 - roughly a 12.5 percent spurt.
As traders have begun forecasting a prolonged downtrend, the price tumble, which began Friday, corrected for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, dragging the top ten altcoins to middle ground with them.
Some assets remain noticeably lower, specifically Monero, which came down from $55+ highs, and Ethereum Classic, which posted the smallest growth rate over the past 24 hours.
Mainstream media has been slow to acknowledge the new trend, having quickly announced the bursting of what it deemed another Bitcoin bubble over the weekend.
Optimism
Averting a hard fork is a principle advantage for Bitcoin investors looking to calm volatility in the long term. Lock-in of BIP 91 would guarantee this, along with the benefits of SegWit such as paving the way for Lightning Network near-instant transactions.
On Twitter, ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees captures the sense of optimism under current network behavior.
One of best things about SegWit2x: lets all sides claim victory in the Bitcoin scaling debate. And if BTC moves forward, all are victorious
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) July 17, 2017