Bitcoin's largest exchange in terms of volume, Bitfinex, has updated its terms and conditions concerning the upcoming hard fork, SegWit2x. If the split is successful, the new cryptocurrency will receive the B2X symbol. However, Bitfinex stand is much more important than just a symbolic one. Many people see this as a victory for opponents of the BTC division. Companies and organizations behind the New York Agreement would like their blockchain to be the "real" Bitcoin.
Hardfork will take place on 494,784 block, which should be mined in November. According to the new regulations, Bitfinex users will receive at the moment of division the amount of B2X equal to the amount of BTC in their possession. You can already trade the new cryptocurrency on the exchange though until the fork is complete, it will be listed as BT2. At press time it’s priced at over $1,200. However, if hard fork fails, the new tokens value will be set to 0 and will be delisted from the exchange.
Bitfinex stand
The users appreciated Bitfinex taking clear stand on this matter. They emphasize that’s it critical for the exchanges to be open and clear about how chnages will be handled with the community. This is to be particularly important in a situation where many people do not fully understand the processes that are taking place around them. Lack of proper communication on the part of exchanges may cause uncertainty and anger among their users. In the case of Coinbase, they created a petition to explain how the exchange intends to handle the upcoming SegWit2x hard fork.
This is not the only time Bitcoin will fork creating a new cryptocurrency in the near future. On October 25, Bitcoin Gold (BTG) will be created. In both of those cases users controlling their private keys will be eligible to receive amount of new currency equal to the amount of BTC they own.
All that glitters is not gold
Taking into consideration the current situation of Bitcoin Cash, those who just want to sell new altcoins will probably have to wait some time. Still relatively few portfolios and stock exchanges have made their BCH funds available to their users. In the case of LocalBitcoins, the case of additional funds has been resolved even further beyond users control. Bitcoin Cash was sold and the users received BTC in return.
For many people, Bitfinex stand may also be a symbol of Bitcoin's community opposition to SegWit2x. According to the New York Agreement, 3 months after SegWit activation, Bitcoin should go through hard fork to increase base block size to 2MB. However, more and more people are opposed to activating the 2x version. Recently, Litecoin creator Charlie Lee strongly opposed introducing SegWit2x. Despite this, the signatories of the agreement want their blockchain to be considered the real Bitcoin.
Interesting times
The discussion about SegWit2x is getting hotter and hotter as the deadline for the hard fork approaches. Many people emphasize that running a hard fork so soon after SegWit activation is unnecessary and will only harm the currency. The issue of lack of replay protection which would prevent users from spending both coins is also often raised. SegWit2x creators are not keen to implement it by themselves In the next few weeks, the community will shape the new order of the cryptocurrency market.