Bitstamp's Position On Bitcoin Hard Fork

This announcement from Bitstamp just came in with the mail. I am bringing it to you in its full length.

We would like to take this opportunity to let you 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 your 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 these 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 your 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 you to decide whether to withdraw your BTC funds from Bitstamp prior to this cut-off date if you 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 you and your 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

I have not yet formed an opinion or possible course of action for the following Monday night. I have majority of my bitcoins in a local wallet.

What will you do with your bitcoins?

Cover image for the sake of it ...