As the Bitcoin Cash hard fork is approaching quickly, many cryptocurrency enthusiasts are anxious regarding the cryptocurrency exchanges that will support the event. Currently, cryptocurrency exchanges such as BitMEX, Ledger, Coinbase, and Binance have announced plans to handle the hard fork. However, BitMEX has announced further information concerning how the exchange will support the upcoming hard fork on November 15, 2018.
With the hard fork just days away, BCH slide 6.17% within the last 24 hours. However, the digital asset had risen to a recent peak of $635. Many cryptocurrency traders are hoping the value of BCH will surge in anticipation of the upcoming hard fork.
Upcoming Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Hard Fork Will Be Supported By Coinbase And Binance
The cryptocurrency market and ecosystem are getting prepared for the upcoming Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hard fork scheduled for Nov. 15. Six of the most important crypto exchanges in the market have already announced their plans to support BCH’s hard fork.
There were some disagreements between Bitcoin Cash supporters about how to improve the network. This is why there are currently two different branches of Bitcoin Cash that will implement different solutions. One is known as Bitcoin ABC, supported by the cryptocurrency mining company Bitmain, and the other is known as Bitcoin SV, which is backed by Craig Wright.
At the moment of writing, there is no clear outcome about which will be the dominant network. However, there are slight more possibilities for the Bitcoin ABC to receive the biggest support from the community.
In order to help users experience a smooth Bitcoin Cash upgrade, several exchanges decided to clear their positions about how to handle BCH funds during the chain split. OKEx, Binance, Bitforex and Huobi announced that they will be supporting the hard fork. Poloniex, instead, said that they are prepared to support both tokens. Coinbase has also stated that they will allow users to have access to their funds on each chain.
Furthermore, it is important to mark that exchanges will be suspending Bitcoin Cash withdrawals and deposits before and after the fork to ensure that the funds are not at risk. None of the networks has replay protection, something that could harm several users.
Ledger and Trezor informed their users that they will also be working in order to protect users. Ledger said that one of the chains will become dominant and they will be supporting it. Trezor, instead, said that their servers run on Bitcoin ABC.
BitMEX Research has also launched a fork monitor for Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, something that will allow interested users to understand what is going on on both networks.
Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork on November 15
BCH’s recent rise in price largely be attributed to the Bitcoin Cash hard fork set to occur on November 15. The BCH hard fork will result in 2 independent BCH blockchains, and therefore 2 different BCH coins.
This has led cryptocurrency traders and investors to buy BCH before the fork date so that they can benefit from the additional coins they’ll receive after the fork.
As seen before with Bitcoin (BTC), there was a divide in the community on whether or not to increase the block size. This lack of consensus resulted in a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain, which then gave birth to Bitcoin Cash.
Now, the BCH community is facing a similar situation.
Twice a year, the Bitcoin Cash blockchain undergoes a hard fork which integrates scheduled protocol upgrades. Most of the time, these hard fork upgrades go unnoticed and the BCH blockchain continues on.
This time however, the BCH community has become divided and failed to come to consensus regarding the future of the BCH blockchain.
NChain, a blockchain group led by “Satoshi-want-to-be,” Craig Wright, does not agree with the upgrades proposed by Bitcoin ABC, a Bitcoin Cash-centric developer coalition.
Therefore, NChain has decided to run its own upgrade to the BCH blockchain which will result in the creation of 2 independent blockchains on November 15.
Binance and Coinbase Announce Support for the BCH Hard Fork
Due to the uncertainty of BCH’s future, 2 of the most prominent crypto exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, have announced their plans to support the potential forked BCH.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto-to-crypto exchange, was the first exchange to announce support for the upcoming BCH hard fork. They stated that they will suspend BCH deposits and withdrawals 1 – 2 hours before the hard fork is expected.
Coinbase, America’s crypto startup valued at $8 billion, has also announced their decision to support the impending hard fork in a Coinbase support post:
We will pause sends and receives on the BCH wallets at Coinbase.com, in our iOS and Android apps, and at Coinbase Pro and Prime beginning at 8:00AM PST on 11/15/2018 (approximately 1 hour before the fork). Please be sure all BCH sends and receives are completed prior to that time.
Something we found to be quite interesting is that Coinbase assured their customers that they will be facilitating the trading of the forked BCH. Binance, on the other hand, has not announced whether or not they will facilitate the forked BCH.
