Coinbase have changed course on a decision to not accept Bitcoin Cash, a new offset of Bitcoin that emerged in the recent currency fork.
The digital currency exchange has released plans to support the currency by January 2018, providing they are satisfied in regard to risk.
All bitcoin holders are now in possession of the new currency following the fork, causing uproar among disgruntled users unable to access their currency held by Coinbase.
However, despite reversing the initial ruling, Coinbase is not yet fully embracing the cryptocurrency that emerged recently, having said in a blog post: “Once supported, customers will be able to withdraw bitcoin cash. We’ll make a determination at a later date about adding trading support. In the meantime, customer bitcoin cash will remain safely stored on Coinbase.”
This ‘fork’ came about due to a split in the blockchain that carries bitcoin, an effect caused by Chinese bitcoin miners. The new currency was born from the original blockchain’s division, and this has raised security concern for the likes of Coinbase.
A major benefit of this for bitcoin owners is the fact that this split could in theory double the amount in their bitcoin wallet, as they become entitled to both variants of the original currency.
READ MORE: A fork in the Bitcoin road – Good news for investors, bad news for blockchain
Coinbase has taken a number of factors into account in deciding whether to support bitcoin cash, these were detailed in the same Coinbase blog post: “Over the last several days, we’ve examined all of the relevant issues and have decided to work on adding support for bitcoin cash for Coinbase customers. We made this decision based on factors such as the security of the network, customer demand, trading volumes, and regulatory considerations.”
The major cryptocurrency exchange has agreed to support bitcoin cash, but will review the potential for the new currency to earn its support in regard to trading.
