As a fairly new person to the Cryptocurrency scene but someone actively involved in managing and securing their investments, it has been abundantly clear I needed to learn a lot more about the upcoming fork to Bitcoin, and fast.
A few days ago I noticed a header on Coinbase linking to their statement on the fork and that they will NOT be supporting the new currency, currently called BitcoinCash (it took me a while, there are many other names floating around like Bitcoin Unlimited and BitcoinABC?).
https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/2844217-uahf-uasf-faq
It seemed my holdings at Coinbase might be safe after the fork, however this sentiment was soon squashed. If there is another viable currency and Coinbase is just throwing this away, they are throwing away my money! In an effort to protect my funds I researched a few wallets to put my BTC into to hold during the fork season. I particularly liked the statement made by Electrum as a procedure to follow and ensure I can benefit from both sides of the fork.
I did a few test transfers from Coinbase to some wallets, mostly to make sure I am doing things right and my BTC weren't vanishing into the ether. I noticed that two withdrawals I made yesterday, one took 25 minutes and the next one took 5 hours. The 5 hour one was at around 7am PST, so likely a peak hour to be trying to make withdrawals.
Another later withdrawal at 6pm took only 3 hours. But you can imagine my worry as a newbie waiting 3 to 5 hours for his withdrawals to complete.
I received an email from Coinbase today reiterating their position as I mentioned above. So I can only imagine that the entire population of Coinbase is now alerted to this issue and the withdrawal times will continue to rise!
https://blog.coinbase.com/update-for-customers-with-bitcoin-stored-on-coinbase-99e2d4790a53
I am glad I found this information and reached this conclusion with a few days left before August 1st! I hope this post helps spread the word so everyone can make an informed decision!
Image Credit: Pexels (edited by me in GIMP)
https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-ship-dock-on-lake-by-the-green-grass-under-blue-ksy-515312/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-jumping-on-lake-silhouette-photograph-493871/