When is the Bitcoin fork?
The coming segwit2x hard fork is going to take place around November 18th at Bitcoin blockchain block #494784.
What do you need to know about the fork?
The blockhain will be split into two chains that share history up until the split block. Private keys for the fork coin will be the same as the private key for your Bitcoin. Normally every wallet gets access the same amount of the fork coin on the fork blockchain. If some service you are using is not giving you that – you are missing out.
What are the dangers of the Segwit2x fork?
First, being dependent on an exchange/wallet that stores your private keys. Companies change their mind often, and you might not get what is yours if the private key is not yours.
Second, replay attacks are possible during the fork “turbulence”, make sure your wallets are developing replay protection mechanisms.
Where to store your Bitcoin during the fork?
The most important thing about wallets is whether or not you control your private key. Once you have your private key for Bitcoin, you will be able to plug it in to any other wallet and redeem you fork coins (same block history, same private keys). If you do not have your private key – you are at the mercy of your wallet provider. It is them who have your Bitcoin and hold them for you.
What companies to avoid during the fork?
Coming from that, we can only recommend to NOT store your coins with a service that does not give you the private key to your wallet. Especially during the fork, when companies change their stance often. You may be losing your fork coins or your core coins depending on what the service company decides. Luckily companies like that are a minority – filter the table below by “no private key” and you’ll see them all.
To be specific, most large exchanges do not give you private keys to your wallets – instead, they hold your portfolio for you, and you will be in charge only once you withdraw to a “real” wallet. So: do not keep your coins at exchanges.
Hardware wallets are safe, paper wallets are always safe – but with them you won’t be able to immediately dump your fork coins if that is what you intend to do. Keep in mind that many exchanges and other services will limit transactional activity prior to the fork and possibly afterwards too – to avoid glitches and replay attacks. Most probably transferring coins will get safer “after the dust settles” – that is, some 48 hours after the fork.
Trading your fork coins for Bitcoin
On the other hand, having your Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Fork coins into two separate “temporary” wallets that an exchange stores them at for you could be a natural protection against replay attacks. Since both wallets are different and their private keys unknown – spending one coin will not endanger your other coin, which would be the case with a hardware or a paper wallet. Hence many people willing to dump either core or fork coin soon after the fork prefer to store the trading amount at an exchange that will credit the fork coins to users’ accounts.
Guide to the the table below
The first column: “will credit the 2x balance” – means whether you are getting your fork coins too along with the pre-fork Bitcoin. Getting your coin is natural and happens by default …if you control your private key. Watch out for “no private key” red cells in this column – these companies can change their mind and screw you over any time.
“Supports both” is more of a crypto-politics parameter. Some companies are willingly sticking to the 2x coin, some stick to the core for reasons beyond profit. Just keep it in mind, or take a stance yourself.
“Activity locks” shows the time of possible activity freezes according to the companies’ statements. Some specify exact times, some do not – but the fork period is not the safest time to transact in general.
Ticker old / Ticker new are the columns that display how companies plan to call both resulting coins.
* n/a is both “not available” and “not applicable”. This table will be updated – google “coin vigilance” to get back here or follow us on twitter to know when we’ve pubished an update.
The updated list of major wallets’ and exchanges’ stance on the Segwit2x hard fork:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service name | will credit 2x balance? | supports both? | activity locks | ticker old | ticker new | source |
| Armory | n/a (own private key) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Binance | n/a (no private keys!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Bitfinex | yes (no private key!) | yes | 24hrs+ | BTC | BTX | https://www.bitfinex.com/posts/223 |
| Bitgo | yes (no private key!) | will stick to "strongest" chain (hashpower + market price) | 24-72 hrs limit | won't support "minority chain" | BTC ("strrongest chain") | https://blog.bitgo.com/bitgos-segwit2x-plan-bb8f17e972d3 |
| Bitpanda | yes (no private key!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | https://blog.bitpanda.com/bitpandas-fork-policy-60397630a486 |
| Bitpay | if the minority chain has significant market value, we will provide instructions to Copay and BitPay wallet users on how to safely access those coins | will stick to chain with most accumulated difficulty | 24hrs before | BC1 (if 2x wins) or BTC | BC2 (if 2x loses) or BTC | https://blog.bitpay.com/segwit2x-and-bitpay/ |
| Bitstamp | n/a (no private keys!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Bittrex | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Blockchain.info | No (no private key!) | will stick to chain with most accumulated difficulty | 24 hrs before the fork | BTC if strongest, BC1 if minority | BTC if strongest, BC2 if minority | https://blog.blockchain.com/2017/11/03/segwit2x-frequently-asked-questions/ |
| Blockcypher | n/a | n/a | none | BTC | B2X | https://blog.blockcypher.com/the-segwit2x-hard-fork-20ef27253bd1 |
| Breadwallet | yes | will stick to chain with most accumulated difficulty | 1 day | n/a | n/a | https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6uyr8s/breadwallet_support_for_segwit_response_to_my/ |
| BTCC | yes | will call strongest chain btc | n/a | BTC if strongest, BC1 if minority | BTC if strongest, BC2 if minority | https://www.btcc.com/news/en/announcements/2017/07/18/handling-scaling/ |
| Cex.io | yes (no private key!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | https://blog.cex.io/news/segwit2x-16585 |
| Circle | n/a (no private keys!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Changelly | n/a (2x supporter but "will follow public consensus") | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | https://changelly.com/blog/changelly-cryptocurrency-exchange-segwit-bitcoin/ |
| Coin.space | unknown (user has private keys though) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | https://www.coin.space/blog.html |
| Coinapult | n/a (no private keys!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Coinbase | yes (no private key!) | n/a | 8 hrs before | BTC | B2X | https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/2892985-segwit-2x-faq |
| Copay.io | if the minority chain has significant market value, we will provide instructions to Copay and BitPay wallet users on how to safely access those coins | will stick to chain with most accumulated difficulty | 24hrs before | BTC if strongest, BC1 if minority | BTC if strongest, BC2 if minority | https://blog.bitpay.com/segwit2x-and-bitpay/ |
| Edge (former airbitz) | yes (own private key) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Electrum | Yes (own private key) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Exodus | yes (own private keys) | n/a | none | n/a | n/a | http://support.exodus.io/article/97-exodus-info-on-the-segwit2x-hard-fork |
| Greenadress | no | no | n/a | n/a | n/a | https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/6tdeqz/greenaddress_does_not_plan_to_support_segwit2x/ |
| Jaxx | yes (own private key) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | http://decentral.ca/topic-segwit2x-vs-bitcoin-core-replay-protection/ |
| Keepkey | yes | n/a | none | n/a | n/a | https://www.reddit.com/r/keepkey/comments/733c6s/keepkey_and_segwitx2/ |
| Kraken | n/a (no private keys!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Ledger nano s | yes | n/a | none | Bitcoin 1-x | Bitcoin 2-x | https://www.ledger.fr/2017/11/06/preparing-segwit2x-hard-fork/ |
| Mycelium | yes (own private key) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/73r43u/mycelium_segwit2x_how_to_keep_your_coins_safe/ |
| Poloniex | n/a (no private keys!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Samourai wallet | yes (own private key) | Suggests users redeem their s2x coins from other, s2x wallets | n/a | BTC | S2X | http://blog.samouraiwallet.com/post/166464385507/statement-regarding-the-upcoming-s2x-hard-fork |
| Shapeshift | n/a (2x supporter) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Trezor | yes (own private key) | n/a | none | - | - | https://blog.trezor.io/trezor-advisory-uasf-chain-split-fork-2f95cf2c11a0 |
| Uphold | n/a (no private keys!) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Xapo | yes (no private key!) | will stick to chain with most accumulated difficulty | up to a week | BTC if strongest, BC1 if minority | BTC if strongest, BC2 if minority | https://blog.xapo.com/about-the-bitcoin-segwit2x-update/ |
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As you can see most large exchanges are waiting to make the last minute announcements. Hard fork time is a time of immense dangers and opportunities, so that behaviour is understandeable. Follow us on twitter to get alerts when we update the list: https://twitter.com/coinvigilance
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