Bitcoin Cash Fork, 15 November 2020: What it Means for You

On the 15th of November, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network will be undergoing a fork. However, it looks like a consensus won’t be reached on it. Let’s go over what this means for you as a Ledger user.

Bitcoin Cash Fork: The Situation So Far

The Bitcoin Cash network is facing a fork that isn’t reaching consensus, meaning those participating in the network aren’t agreeing on whether or not to implement the coming fork. This fork will take place on the 15th of November, and could possibly result in a split of the network. 

The outcome of the fork is currently uncertain. It could be that two completely viable chains will start existing, similarly to the split of BCH and BSV exactly two years ago. It’s also possible that only one chain will remain viable in the end. Unfortunately, only time can tell the exact outcome of this split.

So what does this mean for me as a Ledger user?

For security reasons, Ledger will suspend its Bitcoin Cash (BCH) service at 07:00 UTC on 12 November 2020, meaning you can’t transact with your BCH after that time. This is to prevent so-called Replay Attacks from causing our users to lose funds. At this point, we cannot say anything about when BCH service will be restored. We’ll first need to see what the result of this fork will be, notably which fork will become the most viable from both a technical and economic standpoint.

While we might be suspending Ledger Live’s Bitcoin Cash service, not to worry: your BCH private keys remain secured through your Ledger device. Its security is not impacted by the fork.

What are my options?

From here, you basically have three options. Let’s go over them:

Option 1: Sending out your Bitcoin Cash

If you want to continue using your Bitcoin Cash (BCH) during our service interruption, you could opt to send your Bitcoin Cash elsewhere, to a platform that will keep its services running during this time period. This way, you could use your BCH. Do kindly note that this might bring the risk of the previously mentioned replay attacks though.

Option 2: Wait it out

Another option is to simply wait till we restore service for the most viable chain. Your Bitcoin Cash private keys will remain secured through your device. This means that once our service is restored, you can continue using your BCH as intended.

Option 3: 3rd party wallets

A last option would be to use your Ledger device with a third-party wallet application such as Electron Cash. While we’re not sure if these third party wallets will continue their operations during the fork and its following time period, you could continue using your Ledger device to manage your BCH there if they do. Do kindly note that transacting with your BCH at this time may include the risk of replay attacks. We strongly recommend doing your own research on both replay attacks and if these third-party wallet apps will continue to function during this time.

We hope that this has clarified the situation regarding using your Ledger device for BCH during its upcoming fork. In short, we’ll be suspending our service on the 12th of November and we’ll be keeping an eye on its progress and results to see when we can resume it. You can keep an eye on our Social Media pages for updates on this as well.

Important reminder: During these kinds of contested forks, phishing and scam attempts tend to be more common. Remain vigilants for these!