Bitcoin Cash hard forked from Bitcoin on August 1 after Bitcoin ABC, an implementation backed by Bitmain and others, gained support from miners. ViaBTC, a major Chinese mining pool, mined the first bl
Bitcoin Cash hard forked from Bitcoin on August 1 after Bitcoin ABC, an implementation backed by Bitmain and others, gained support from miners. ViaBTC, a major Chinese mining pool, mined the first block on the new chain. The fork meant every Bitcoin holder received one Bitcoin Cash per Bitcoin held. But while the ratio was mechanical, the actual process of taking possession of Bitcoin Cash turned out to be far more complex.
Customers of custodial exchanges—platforms where the company controls your private keys—had a simpler path. Coinbase told customers on August 3 that they would be able to withdraw BCH by January 18. The company stated: "We are planning to have support for bitcoin cash by January 1, 2018, assuming no additional risks emerge during that time. Once supported, customers will be able to withdraw bitcoin cash. We'll make a determination at a later date about adding trading support."
Bitcoin stored on non-custodial wallets presented a different problem. These wallets exist because you control the private keys—no one else can move your coins. Breadwallet, a non-custodial service, announced on August 3 it would add a feature letting users move their Bitcoin Cash to an external address. Breadwallet said: "It is your money, and you deserve easy access to it! Our current plan is to add a simple feature to the existing breadwallet app, that will let users send their entire balance of BCH to an address of their choosing. Using this newest feature to send out your BCH can only be done once, to a single address, and will include all the BCH your breadwallet held at the time the fork happened."
Other wallet providers took different approaches. Trezor, a hardware wallet, enabled BCH withdrawals through a beta version of its wallet, with a tutorial available. Ledger hardware users found Bitcoin Cash added to their account balances. Jaxx asked users to keep their Bitcoin in place until full Bitcoin Cash integration was complete, when they could withdraw. KeepKey struck a partnership with ShapeShift to handle Bitcoin Cash withdrawals. BTC.com credited users with BCH upon the fork. BitcoinABC, Bitcoin Classic, Coinomi, and Freewallet all announced Bitcoin Cash support.
Chinese exchanges led. OKCoin accepted BCH as an altcoin and listed the BCH/BTC trading pair. Huobi accepted BCH as an altcoin and said it would add Bitcoin Cash to its trading platform. BTCC accepted BCH as an altcoin and listed it on BTCC China. Yunbi and CHBTC both accepted BCH but had not decided on trading support. BTC38 classified BCH as a Bitcoin fork, also without trading plans. ViaBTC, which mined the first block, treated BCH as a technical solution and listed it for trading.
U.S. exchanges lagged behind. Only two of the five largest U.S. platforms provided support. Kraken enabled both withdrawals and trading. Bitfinex authorized withdrawals. Bittrex approved withdrawals.
South Korean markets both acted. Bithumb accepted BCH withdrawals. Korbit enabled withdrawals and began Bitcoin Cash trading on August 4. QuoineEX in Singapore allowed withdrawals. Other exchanges including BTCBox, QuadrigaCX, Mercury Cash, Bitcoins Norway, Lykke, Coinspot, and Walltime announced Bitcoin Cash support in their regions.
But people should not rush. The Bitcoin Cash network had problems. On August 3, ViaBTC mined an empty block. It then mined several blocks far smaller than expected—a 100 KB block and a 43 KB block after an initial 1.9 MB block. Bitcoin developer Ben Verret documented the pattern. These blocks signaled network instability.
Price was a second concern. Analysts Ari Paul and Henry Brade both flagged an issue. The price of Bitcoin Cash looked high but was based on artificial conditions. Users could not deposit Bitcoin Cash onto most exchanges, which meant few could sell. Ari Paul said: "Reality check: can't get BCH on to either Bittrex or Kraken. Price isn't real if sellers can't sell." Henry Brade explained: "In case you're wondering why the BCH price seems high: It's because no one can deposit BCH to exchanges. Once this changes, expect a crash."
Waiting made sense. Coinbase gave users until January 2018, providing a deadline. The network would stabilize over time as problems were fixed. Exchanges would complete their integrations. Withdrawing in early August meant taking on technical risk while selling at prices that would not hold once actual trading began.
