In blockchain, hard forks and soft forks are types of protocol upgrades or changes. They affect the rules that participants in the blockchain network follow. Here’s the distinction: Hard Fork A hard fork introduces changes to the blockchain protocol that are not backward compatible , meaning old nodes (computers running the previous version of the software) cannot process blocks created using the new rules. This results in a permanent split of the blockchain into two separate chains: The original chain following the old rules. The new chain following the updated rules. Examples: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was created as a hard fork of Bitcoin (BTC) in 2017 due to disagreements over block size limits. Ethereum Classic (ETC) emerged from Ethereum (ETH) after a hard fork following the 2016 DAO hack. Why Hard Forks Happen: To implement major upgrades (e.g., increasing block size, changing consensus rules). To resolve disputes within the community. To reverse transactions in spe...