Bitcoin Q&A: What happens to our bitcoins during a hard fork?
What do we do with our bitcoins during a hard fork? Where do we store them? Are they safe? A hard fork (planned, accidental, or as a network-based attack) is "a permanent divergence from the previous version of the blockchain, and nodes running previous versions will no longer be accepted by the newest version." Hard forks in Bitcoin have so far not happened often or on a planned basis, because they have monetary consequences. If a hard fork does happen, your keys will control value (i.e. coins) on both chains because they have the same ancestry. It does mean you have "twice as many coins," but not in the way you think -- more than likely, they will be worth half as much or less. Ponzi schemes and inflation. Bitcoin is designed to be a resilient, self-healing, anti-fragile system, especially when it is being attacked all the time. If you directly control the private keys to your bitcoins, you're fine --- your coins aren't being invalidated or going anywhere. When the hard fork happens, you can just decide which chain you want to continue with. Wait until things clarify. If you don't control the private keys to your bitcoins (ex. on an exchange), move them to address that you control. If you don't, whoever controls your bitcoins will be deciding for you, and not all exchanges/ wallets will be supporting both sides of the fork. This is part of a talk which took place at the JW Marriott Sahar (International Airport) on March 26th 2017 in Mumbai, India: http://ift.tt/2na4KqF RELATED: Introduction to Bitcoin - https://youtu.be/l1si5ZWLgy0 Bitcoin for Beginners - https://youtu.be/UlKZ83REIkA Blockchain for Beginners - https://youtu.be/i9nUMvpT2rM Embrace the Good, Reject the Fear - https://youtu.be/38U0BQQLzK0 Are chain splits a governance failure? - https://youtu.be/2pJEEVEmEVw The dangers of hard forks in protocol evolution - https://youtu.be/vxEHRvhJKvA Hard forks and the cultural mulligan - https://youtu.be/KT-7APasANI Hot vs. cold wallets - https://youtu.be/Aji_E9sw0AE Divisibility and deflationary monetary policy - https://youtu.be/xhLgxX_wU6E Who determines the value of bitcoins? - https://youtu.be/DucvYCX1CVI How to get people to care about security - https://youtu.be/Ji1lS9NMz1E Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and well-respected figures in bitcoin. Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop Website: http://ift.tt/1lek8e4 He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters. THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: http://ift.tt/2o8HU2S MASTERING BITCOIN: http://ift.tt/2g7r3G5 [NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: http://ift.tt/2qUfKqY Subscribe to the channel to learn more about Bitcoin & open blockchains! Videography: Zebpay Bitcoin India Music: "Unbounded" by Orfan (http://ift.tt/2o8tuA5) Outro Graphics: Phneep (http://www.phneep.com/) Outro Art: Rock Barcellos (http://ift.tt/1HKZSHT)
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