SegWit2x Statement by Coinbase Will Cause a lot of Controversy

Any discussion revolving around SegWit2X will continue to spark debates. Coinbase is one of the first major exchanges to officially announce its plans in this regard. In fact, they will effectively support this altcoin whenever the hard fork occurs. Bitfinex has made a similar statement not too long ago. It remains to be seen how the overall Bitcoin community responds to this decision.

It is evident a lot of Bitcoin enthusiasts see SegWit2X as a true abomination. This is mainly due to this altcoin not providing adequate replay protection. Purposefully refusing to implement a solution preventing users from sending funds to the wrong blockchain is not an acceptable measure. Surprisingly enough, there are a few big exchanges which seemingly aren’t too bothered about this. Both Bitfinex and Coinbase have issued statements regarding this upcoming altcoin. Coinbase will effectively support the currency and credit user balances accordingly.

Coinbase has an Important Decision to Make

According to the company, their goal is to ensure safety within the cryptocurrency environment. That seems to conflict with the decision to support SegWit2x. After all, that currency’s protocol isn’t safe nor secure right now. Users who have a Bitcoin balance during the upcoming fork can keep their money in the Coinbase wallet. Any user with an active balance will have access to currency on both blockchains. It is important to note the SegWit2x coin will not be Bitcoin, as that currently exists already.

The company comments on the situation as follows:

“After the fork, we will enable access when we have determined each blockchain is secure and stable. We expect this to happen within a few days after the fork, but it may take longer if additional risks emerge.In the coming weeks — nearer to the date of the fork — we will provide a more detailed plan for how Coinbase will approach naming the two Bitcoin blockchains.”

All of this goes to show the SegWit2x fork will continue to cause some confusion for some time. Especially for novice users, this whole debacle makes little to no sense. With Bitfinex and Coinbase making things even more complicated, the situation will not improve whatsoever. It will be interesting to see how the company will name both chains moving forward. If they label SegWit2x as Bitcoin, the company will face a lot of backlash, for obvious reasons.

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