On Aug 1 Bitcoin Cash plans to activate a User Activated Hard Fork (UAHF). And since all others are going to activate BIP91 there might be a blockchain split. That means there will be 2 btc blockchains. If you own bitcoin on Aug 1, you should get 2 coins now, 1) The main BTC 2) Bitcoin Cash (BCC).
But since most exchanges will not support BCC, you will only have BTC, unless you withdraw your BTC to a wallet that is supported by BCC or transfer to an exchange that supports BCC and will give you BCC's according to your owned BTC.
The best exchange - available for USA residents - that will support BCC in my opinion is HitBTC that already supports lots of coins and ICO's. Here is a quote of the email I got from them:
Dear trader,
As you may know, Bitcoin Core is undergoing some important scaling improvements through SegWit adoption. First step was made on July 23, 2017 when BIP91 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) was activated. And now the second phase is taking place. Meanwhile there is still a potential threat of UASF known as BIP148 on August 1st that could lead to chain split. Here is our official statement on this issue:
HitBTC stands for SegWit activation. We believe that planned changes and improvements will receive strong community support and result in the technology efficiency and prosperity. We hope that all the negative scenarios, political issues and malicious acts will stay on the sidelines and Bitcoin community will make a weighted and appropriate decision.
Customers' funds security is our highest priority. We will suspend Bitcoin and its tokens USDT, MAID and AMP deposits and withdrawals from July 31st till August 8th to protect users from replay attacks and network instability. The timing may vary, we will keep you informed about any updates.
If there is no chain split and the Bitcoin blockchain functions properly, we will resume deposits and withdrawals.
Even if the UAHF happens, we will take all the necessary technical steps to support the new blockchain. We will fund every Bitcoin holder with the newly born asset.
For the sake of your assets security, we advise you to limit the number of Bitcoin transfers and keep your funds in one place. HitBTC assures its users that all Bitcoin funds, holding on the exchange, will be safe during the uncertainty of potential chain fork.
