Bitcoin to Transition from SHA-2 to BLAKE2b in PoW System

A major change is coming to Bitcoin's Proof of Work (PoW) system. According to Luke Dashjr, a Bitcoin developer and leading figure in the Bitcoin Knots project, this change will take place on August 30th. The current SHA-2 hash algorithm used by miners will be replaced with BLAKE2b.

Miners using SHA-2 should halt mining on Saturday, as this would prepare for the mainnet rehearsal of Bitcoin Knots version 29.4.1rc4. This version is configured to fix the last SHA-2 block before the transition.

The 'canonical blake2b_headline' parameter will be shared after the online version of the New York Post's Sunday morning print edition is published. If the process proceeds smoothly, the final version of Bitcoin Knots 29.4.1 will be released on September 1st, and the blockchain history created on August 30th will be preserved.

However, if an unexpected problem arises, the system can be reverted to the last SHA-2 block and a new attempt can be made with version rc5. Dashjr recommends that those who want to start mining from day one after the changes should prepare in advance on testnet4 with Bitcoin Knots rc3 version.