Over the past few days, the Bitcoin network scaling debate has been a viral topic as the community has begun deliberating the viability of a hard fork and a possible blockchain split.
Also Read: Antpool Points 75% Hashpower at BU, While Exchanges Confirm Listing a Split
A Large Group of Bitcoin Exchanges Reveal Hard Fork Contingency Framework
Popular Bitcoin Exchanges Reveal Controversial Hard Fork Contingency PlanOn March 17 roughly twenty well-known exchanges released a statement concerning the possibility of a hard fork and a network split. The statement noted that the exchanges believe a hard fork is imminent and how their business plan looks in that situation. The exchanges that signed the letter of intent statement detailed their plans of listing both token assets if a blockchain split takes place. This would include asset listings for Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Unlimited (BU) protocols. Exchanges who signed the letter include Bitstamp, BTCC, Bitsquare, Shapeshift, Kraken, and more.
“We have decided to designate the Bitcoin Unlimited fork as BTU (or XBU),” explains the participating exchanges. “The Bitcoin Core implementation will continue to trade as BTC (or XBT), and all exchanges will process deposits and withdrawals in BTC even if the BTU chain has more hashing power.”
However, the statement of how exchanges would designate the names of the tokens listed has become a contentious issue for those supporting BU. Furthermore, the community and two signatory exchanges had noticed that the letter of intent was altered after it was published. Both Shapeshift and Kraken who signed the letter stated there were changes made to the original document they had signed. The issue at hand was calling the Core protocol BTC, even if that client was not the longest chain with the most proof-of-work running. Kraken explained they did not want to be in a position to decide which chain gets to keep the BTC moniker. Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees explained his opinion of the name issue on Twitter stating:
