The user-activated hard fork on the Bitcoin Cash’ network is looming around the corner, and the debate over the correct technical direction for the cryptocurrency has become increasingly heated on social media and among industry pundits.
Ahead of the upgrade event, which may lead to a code split of Bitcoin Cash, crypto exchange Binance on Friday announced it would support the proposed BTC hard fork that is scheduled for November 15.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency platform by traded value stated that it would provide customers with access to coins on the new blockchains, although they will restrict access following the fork until the upgraded or new coins are stable and secure.
Binance made the announcement in a blog post, saying it will take a snapshot of all Bitcoin Cash balances “at UNIX time 1542300000, 2018/11/15 4:40:00 PM (UTC).”
The statement also provides guidance for consumers who are currently storing Bitcoin Cash in Binance wallets.
“Deposits and withdrawals of Bitcoin Cash will be suspended starting from 2018/11/15 3:00:00 PM (UTC),” the post continues.
A New Competing Coin Could Emerge
Although there’s a little more than two weeks left until the new Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network breaks away as a new fork, BTC developers have been in an all-out war. There is still a disagreement between the Bitcoin ABC developers and the team behind Bitcoin SV, which may end with Bitcoin Cash code being split in two and thus creates a competing cryptocurrency.
Several other exchanges and wallet providers are also signaling their caution for the possible hard-forked token. The disagreement has led popular hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger to remain neutral and wait to see if a certain ‘hash war’ will really come to fruition. Ledger said this week it will halt BTC services on November 15 and will adopt a wait-and-see approach until a dominant chain appears before it resumes Bitcoin Cash support.
In addition, Winklevoss twins-backed Gemini has suspended plans to list Bitcoin Cash, with a market value of $7.8 billion. Still, it has intentions to go live soon. Winklevoss explained that part of the delay of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is its possible hard forks arriving in mid-November.
(Photo: Binance)
