Upcoming BCH hard fork

UPDATE (27 November 2018): Bitcoin Cash deposits and withdrawals are available again at Bitstamp. Right now, we only support transfers from/to the Bitcoin Cash ABC chain. Do not send coins from the Bitcoin Cash SV chain to Bitstamp, as they will not be credited!

As a security precaution, we currently require 15 network confirmations for a BCH deposit to be successfully processed. Therefore, expect BCH deposits to take longer than usual.

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UPDATE (15 November 2018 at 2:30 PM UTC): Bitcoin Cash deposits and withdrawals have been halted and will remain unavailable until further notice. BCH trading will continue with no interruptions.

We will only support Bitcoin ABC during the fork and the price of BCH at Bitstamp will reflect the price of Bitcoin ABC. Initially, we will not support any alternative chains, but will monitor the situation and decide about further courses of action at a later date.

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UPDATE (14 November 2018): We will only support Bitcoin ABC during the fork and the price of BCH at Bitstamp will reflect the price of Bitcoin ABC. Initially, we will not support any alternative chains, but we will take a snapshot of all balances before the fork and will then monitor the situation and decide about further courses of action at a later date, after the fork.

BCH deposits and withdrawals will be halted at 2:30 PM UTC on 15 November. BCH trading will be available at Bitstamp with no interruptions. We will post updates on our social media, as the situation unfolds.

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Dear customers,

A Bitcoin Cash hard fork will take place on 15 November as part of scheduled protocol upgrades. However, unlike previous BCH hard forks, there are two competing proposals for the new upgrades, which will result in a split in the blockchain.

BCH trading will be available at Bitstamp with no interruptions, however, we will pause BCH deposits and withdrawals at 2:30 PM UTC on 15 November. Please make sure all your deposits and withdrawals have been completed before that time.

BCH deposits and withdrawals will remain closed until one of the competing chains wins majority support. We do not know how long that will take, so a long suspension is possible. Be assured that your BCH will remain perfectly safe at Bitstamp during the fork.

We will take a snapshot of all balances before the fork. In the unlikely event that the fork produces two viable chains, we will assess the situation and decide on a course of action at a later date. Bitstamp will make this choice at our own discretion once the situation has stabilized.

This fork will have no replay protection, which is why we are in favor of taking a cautious approach. Bitstamp may choose not to credit alternative forked coins related to this event. Customers who would like to have the option to preserve/claim coins on alternative chains should withdraw their BCH before we disable withdrawals on 15 November.

Best,
The Bitstamp team