For some time, bitcoin has faced a scaling issue, where the number of transactions that can happen on the blockchain at any one time is limited to 1 megabyte (1MB) every 10 minutes. This creates a backlog of transactions that need to be processed and slows things down.
The bitcoin community has been divided on the best way of solving this. One solution is a system called Segregated Witness (SegWit) which would increase the speed of transactions, but it required 95 percent support from miners and the community to be added to the blockchain and there has been resistance.
Uncertainty over bitcoin's future has caused the price to decline in recent weeks. Bitcoin fell about 12 percent on Sunday morning, due to these concerns.
However, bitcoin miners are being forced to respond to the issue.