On July 25, nearly all cryptocurrencies dropped about 12%. Why? Read on!
Bitmain, one of the larger companies that mine (create) Bitcoin, announced yesterday that they will switch from creating Bitcoin to a new version of Bitcoin, called Bitcoin Cash, starting August 1. This will lead to there being two bitcoins. After their announcement, nearly all coins in the the cryptocurrency market dropped by about 12%. I expect the market to recover after August 1 and go higher no later than the end of the year.
Without getting too deeply into the technical details, you need to do two things at this point:
- Make sure your Bitcoin is NOT stored on Coinbase.com or GDAX.com or on the phone app, Breadwallet. If it is move it to a different wallet. You can use an app for your phone or computer or a hardware wallet, like a USB thumbdrive. For the app, I recommend the Blockchain wallet. They have versions for your computer, Android and iPhone. Or, if you want to be super secure, to a hardware wallet–like a USB thumbdrive. I recommend the Ledger Nano S
, which I use.
- Do NOT sell, spend, trade or transfer your Bitcoin between Saturday, July 29 and August 3. This is to prevent any difficulties from a confusion between the two coins. By August 3, the dust should have settled.
, which I use.