The snapshot

On 2nd of November 2017 a new snapshot of the Bitcoin blockchain at block #492820 was created by the devs of Bitcore.
Everybody with access to their private keys will be able to get 50% in BTX relative to the BTC they held at the time of the snapshot (1:2 swap) if their balance was at least 0.01 BTC.
To get your free BTX, you simply have to import your private key you used for your Bitcoin in the Bitcore Core Wallet. However there are a few things to consider before doing so:
- the process of moving all BTX to approx 5'000'000 addresses will probably take several days. Try your BTX claiming in two weeks (mid November) to be absolutely sure your private key has been funded.
- make sure to move your Bitcoin to a new address where you control the private key, before using the "old" private key for your Bitcore. This is a simple security measure.

How to Export/Import a Private Key

Exporting from BTC wallet

Depending on the Bitcoin Wallet you use, there are several ways to get your private key. Usually they are hidden for the normal user, because there is no reason to directly access the. However you will find ways to extract them via advanced options.
We recommend to make a quick google search for the wallet you are using.
Please note: Many BTC webwallets and exchanges don't give access of the private key to the user. Unless these services support our snapshot by distributing BTX to their users, it won't be possible to access your private key to claim your BTX.
This is one of the reasons we always advocate to use a wallet that gives you full control of your keys, such as for example Electrum.

There are actually two ways to get your BTX from the snapshot:

A) Importing to Bitcore wallet

Right now importing a private key for Bitcore is only possible with the Bitcore Core wallet (download here).

Make sure it is past mid November. It will take up to several days for the Bitcore blockchain to be filled with all the transactions.
Start Bitcore QT. As soon as your wallet has been synced go to Help->Debug Window
Select Console
If your wallet is encrypted it must be unlocked first. Enter "walletpassphrase [yourpassphrase] 600" (without the "" and without [ ])
Now you are ready to import your private key. Enter "importprivkey [yourbitcoinprivkey]" (without the "" and without [ ]). Make sure there are no spaces in your private key.

Done! Your wallet should now contain 1/2 the amount of Bitcore you had in Bitcoin!

B) Copy Wallet.dat

The simplest way to get access to all your private keys from your Bitcoin Core client is to simply copy your wallet.dat file into your Bitcore Core folder. This way the client will automatically show all your corresponding BTX balances after syncing with the network!
Be sure to backup your wallet.dat before doing this!

Some Exciting Technical Details

Taking the so called snapshot of the Bitcoin blockchain is actually relatively easy: You just save/download the ~145 GB data of the chain.
What we are doing after the snapshot is where it gets exciting!
We are actually sending BTX (1:2) to every address saved in the snapshot with a balance of 0.01 BTC or greater.
Starting with the largest balances we make thousands of transactions every hour, steadily making our way down to the addresses with a balance of just 0.01 BTC.
This is an enourmous stress-test for any chain. It is now ongoing for more than a day and working very well so far.
You can have a look at what is happening in the Bitcore Explorer.

Read all about this blockchain-world-record here!

If you want to know more about Bitcore (BTX) please refere to the links below.
Here is a comparison chart, showing the potential of the Bitcore network in comparison to some of the recent forks and the original Bitcoin:

Additional Info

If you want to learn more about Bitcore, check out some of these links:

Please share this info - broad adoption will be one of the key aspects to a successful Bitcore project.

Follow me @xwerk for news and updates on BTX, Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies and art projects.

Bitcore BTX Guide: the 2nd snapshot for BTC HODLers - free BTX | how it works