Bitstamp: BITCOIN HARD FORK: OUR POSITION

We would like to take this opportunity to let our customers know our plans for the upcoming weeks as we navigate any potential disruptions on the Bitcoin (BTC) network. As always, our focus will continue to be on the safety of our customers and their funds.

In the event of a User Activated Hard Fork (UAHF) on 1 August or thereafter, it is important to clarify that Bitstamp would not be in a position to support Bitcoin Cash (BCC), the coin associated with the Bitcoin Cash proposal. In Bitstamp’s view, BCC is an alt-coin and the decision to list BCC tokens remains at our sole discretion at all times.

If Bitstamp chooses to list BCC, we would decide at our own discretion on what course of action to take with balances deriving from the hard fork. BCC would also be subject to the same due diligence processes as for any other alt-coin, which requires time and careful planning. For this reason, Bitstamp is not in a position to support BCC, nor will Bitstamp be liable for any BCC sent to Bitstamp.

As always, the safety of our customers’ funds remains our number one priority. To this end, as a security precaution, we will be disabling bitcoin deposits and withdrawals on 31 July 2017 at 23:00 hrs UTC to ensure that all BTC funds stored at Bitstamp remain secure. Trading will remain unaffected throughout. Deposits and withdrawals will be resumed only when we deem it safe and prudent to do so.

We will leave it to our customers to decide whether to withdraw their BTC funds from Bitstamp prior to this cut-off date if they would like to access BCC or any other hard fork, and Bitstamp shall not be held liable for any consequences of that decision, from neither a financial, operational nor regulatory standpoint.

To be clear, Bitstamp has no favoured outcome to the resolution of the bitcoin scaling issue. Our sole focus is on our customers and their best interests. As such, we are continuing to monitor developments closely. Please check our Twitter feed, Facebook page and website for the latest news, updates and developments.

Best,
The Bitstamp team