This Happens to Your Coins During a Bitcoin Hard Fork and Possible Blockchain Split

The first and foremost piece of information all bitcoin holders should know is that in the event of a hard fork that splits the blockchain, bitcoins you possess will be perfectly safe.

Over the past year or so hard forks have gotten a bad reputation for political reasons, but in actuality, most types of forks are merely protocol upgrades. A blockchain split occurs during a hard fork which in turn branches the chain into two parts. If this happens, there is nothing a bitcoin holder has to do but wait and watch the fork unfold.

The folks at the subreddit r/btc have compiled a very well written frequently asked questions post concerning protocol upgrades and how users are affected. The thread gives details about the hard fork process and what to expect.

Suspicious Timing

It’s also worth noting that the attacks have come at the same time as when the news was released that some Bitcoin exchanges unveiled a hard fork contingency plan. The signed statement has come under a lot of scrutiny because at least two of the exchange signers, Kraken and Shapeshift, said the document they signed was not the same as what they were originally shown. Also missing from the signed statement are several of the biggest exchanges on the market, Coinbase, Gemini, Localbitcoins, among several others.

The significance of the timing of these two events can’t be overlooked, as the signed statement clearly has been lauded by the same groups who don’t hold the same values and vision as on-chain scaling proponents in attempt to further smear on-chain scaling. In addition, there have been other subversive attempts at attacking the Bitcoin network in recent times, which has left many scratching their heads just who is behind these sorts of attacks.

Truth Under Attack

When Bitcoin.com re-launched the updated site in 2015, it was smack in the middle of the Bitcoin block size debate, which has also been called by many the Bitcoin “civil war”. It’s no secret that during this time, Bitcoin.com has positioned itself as a proponent for on-chain scaling solutions, as envisioned by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Since then, Bitcoin.com has worked with industry experts and leaders in the space to deliver news, uncensored information, and tools to the Bitcoin community. Most recently, Bitcoin.com has opened the Bitcoin.com Mining Pool, which mines using the Bitcoin client Bitcoin Unlimited (BU) and pays 110% block reward and has zero fees.

Due to this, Bitcoin.com has been the target of individuals and groups that don’t share the same vision. And this week, the site along with the new mining pool and uncensored forum have all been targeted by attackers in attempts to bring down the site and stop the flow of uncensored information.