Bitcoin Cash 2020 Hard Fork

Update as of November 18, 2020: Nexo has resumed BCH transactions following the November 15 Bitcoin Cash hard fork. We will now only support the dominant Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN).

As per our previous communication, we paused all BCH top-ups and withdrawals on the Nexo platform between November 14 and November 18, while awaiting confirmation of the dominant Bitcoin Cash protocol.

For additional information, please refer to the below post, originally published on November 9, 2020.

As you are probably aware, the Bitcoin Cash network currently faces a potential hard fork after November 15, 2020. We are therefore sharing Nexo’s stance should a BCH hard fork indeed go ahead, so as to ensure you make an informed decision regarding your assets.

What Is the BCH Hard Fork? Bitcoin Cash Node vs. Bitcoin ABC

Currently, developers Bitcoin ABC (BCHA) and node operators Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN) are engaged in a dispute over the coin distribution for the protocol, which may result in a hard fork after November 15, 2020.

Bitcoin ABC, led by Amaury Sechet, introduced a new “coinbase rule” that will distribute 8% of all mined BCH to a developer fund for Bitcoin ABC to finance their protocol development. Bitcoin Cash Node, led by Roger Ver, is against the implementation of the “coinbase rule” due to dissent over the diversion of 8% of the BCH mining reward to pay a single development team.

At the moment, Bitcoin Cash Node seems to have the majority of the community behind it, with 80% of nodes signaling they will support BCHN after the upgrading event on November 15.

Nexo’s BCH Hard Fork Position

1. Preliminary Actions: As of 22:00 UTC on November 14, all BCH top-ups and withdrawals on the Nexo platform will be paused. Once the dominant Bitcoin Cash protocol is known after 12:00 UTC on November 15, we will resume BCH top-ups and withdrawals. Please note that it may take time for the BCH nodes to be reorganized and for the network to stabilize, resulting in potential delays in resuming withdrawals and top-ups.

2. In the Event of No Fork: Nexo will continue to support the dominant Bitcoin Cash network. Your assets will appear on the platform as BCH.

3. In the Event of a Hard Fork: Nexo will ONLY support the dominant BCH protocol. In light of this, we ask all clients to have the following in mind when managing their BCH in the upcoming week:

• There will be NO snapshot of the BCH held in your Nexo Account and we will NOT support the non-dominant chain. If you wish to take part in the fork and receive coins resulting from it, you must transfer the BCH balance in your Nexo account to a wallet that supports the coin split.
• By holding a BCH balance with Nexo during the fork, clients agree that Nexo will handle the fork at its discretion, and understand that Nexo will NOT support the non-dominant chain.

While they may bring some short-term uncertainty, hard forks are an integral part of the blockchain space as they help democratize networks. We trust our email gives you full clarity regarding this event and its impact on the assets you hold with us, so that you may best navigate this situation.