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A **soft fork** is a change to a blockchain’s protocol that tightens the rules governing valid blocks and transactions. Because the new rules are a subset of the old ones, blocks that follow the updated (stricter) rules are still considered valid by nodes that haven’t upgraded, while blocks that violate the new rules are rejected by upgraded nodes. Key points: - **Backward‑compatible:** Non‑upgraded (legacy) nodes continue to see the new blocks as valid, so the network can stay unified during

The Lightning Network is a **second‑layer protocol** built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain (and now also being explored for other blockchains). Its main purpose is to enable fast, low‑cost, and scalable transactions by moving most of the payment activity off‑chain while still retaining Bitcoin’s security guarantees. ### How It Works 1. **Payment Channels** – Two parties open a multi‑signature channel by locking a certain amount of Bitcoin in a smart contract on the main chain. 2. **Off‑Chain