Bittrex, the US-based Bitcoin and altcoin exchange has announced its official position on Bitcoin Gold.
The exchange, one of the top players in the crypto marketplace, had previously hesitated to issue a formal statement. However, with the hard fork just a short time away, Bittrex has clarified its position on the upcoming fork.
According to the official announcement, Bittrex will perform a ‘wallet snapshot’ at the time of the hard fork, which will occur at block 491,407.
At that time, each BTC will receive an equivalent BTG.
“If you have a Bitcoin (BTC) balance on Bittrex during the BTG snapshot block 491,407 occurring approximately on October 24, 3 am PT (10 am UTC), you will be additionally credited the equivalent amount of Bitcoin Gold (BTG) on a 1:1 basis. i.e., 1 BTC on Bittrex held during the on-exchange snapshot will get you 1 BTG. BTC held on orders will also be credited. Only the BTC held on your account is eligible for BTG.”
The exchange’s statement gave users some warnings about the forthcoming Bitcoin Gold currency.
According to the statement, Bitcoin Gold is currently missing the following:
- Publicly known code developers
- Fully formed consensus code
- Lack of replay protection
- Adequate code for testing and auditing
Also, Bittrex warned that Bitcoin Gold codebase "contains a private premine of 8,000 blocks (100,000 BTG)" and urge customers to "be aware that if a market does open there is a possibility of the developers selling their pre-mined BTG on the open market.”
Bittrex: Bitcoin Gold does not meet listing requirements yet
Bittrex also noted that Bitcoin Gold does not meet the requirements to be listed on its exchange. They also pointed out that taking a snapshot of user balances is remarkably disruptive and they will have to suspend all deposits and withdrawals 24 hours before the snapshot is taken.
Nevertheless, in spite of Bittrex’s reservations about the currency and the difficulty involved in creating the snapshot, the exchange appears committed to ensuring its users receive the appropriate amount of Bitcoin Gold.