KEY POINTS
  • Coinbase and Bitfinex, the two largest exchanges by U.S. dollar-bitcoin trading volume, are adopting a software called SegWit.
  • The move should lower transaction fees by up to 20 percent, and speed up trading across the network, Bitfinex says.
  • High transaction fees were a key reason for the "fork" from bitcoin into bitcoin cash.
The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange application seen on the screen of an iPhone.

Two of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges are aiming to make bitcoin transactions faster and cheaper with a new software update announced this week.

Both Coinbase and Bitfinex said they are adopting a software called SegWit, which bitcoin bulls and one exchange say should lower fees by as much as 20 percent while speeding up transactions.