Note
We will provide further updates and recommendations as this situation evolves. Refer to this article for the latest status updates on the hard fork and your Fireblocks BCH wallets.
Overview
Following an updated proposal for the network published in August 2020, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) will undergo a hard fork on November 15, 2020. This hard fork could cause Bitcoin Cash to split into two blockchains, known in the community as Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN) and Bitcoin ABC (BCHA).
There is still uncertainty over whether both chains will be viable and get adopted by miners and the ecosystem. Currently, there is more miner and exchange support for BCHN, so at the time of this publication, it is the dominant blockchain.
How will Fireblocks handle the hard fork?
Starting November 15, 2020, at approximately 10:00 AM UTC, all BCH wallets will be temporarily suspended before the expected hard fork. As a result, Fireblocks users will not be able to withdraw BCH funds or credit incoming BCH deposits. We will restore BCH operations as soon as there is more clarity around the network split and the adoption of the blockchains.
BCH asset wallets and all whitelisted addresses will retain the BCH symbol but will only work on the BCHN blockchain. If the BCHA chain should receive sufficient adoption, all wallets and whitelisted addresses will be duplicated to work with the BCHA blockchain and will have the BCHA symbol.
After the two blockchains are stable, we will enable BCH deposits.
Should BCHN and BCHA both receive sufficient adoption, we will activate a replay prevention mechanism for each blockchain. We use a technique called dust mixing through a new feature, the Fireblocks Gas Station, to airdrop special dust transactions to all wallets. These transactions exist in only one of the two blockchains, thereby making any transaction later chained to their outputs non-replayable.
Finally, we will enable BCH withdrawals.
Note that should BCHA not receive enough support from miners to be viable or avoid posing a security risk (e.g., 51% attacks), we may decide to only support BCHN after a certain point. In that event, we will share a specific update confirming that we no longer support BCHA.
In addition to the operational and financial impact, the hard fork poses a security risk in the form of replay attacks, where a malicious party could use transactions legitimately signed on one blockchain and spend them on the other blockchain.
Security of your funds is our top priority, and we will not actively restore client wallets until this security risk is reasonably mitigated. Furthermore, we will make all necessary efforts to ensure clients are protected against it.
Do I need to do anything ahead of the hard fork?
No. You do not have to stop withdrawing or depositing BCH between now and 10:00 AM UTC on November 15, 2020.
During the temporary freeze, all your BCH balances in your wallets will be kept safe by Fireblocks for the entire time they are frozen. You will be notified by push notification and email as soon as we can confirm the date and time they will be unfrozen.