Bitcoin holders risk losing real BTC if they sell coins from BIP-110 fork, says developer

TechBitcoin holders risk losing real BTC if they sell coins from BIP-110 fork, says developerIf a minority chain appears this weekend, buyers could replay signed fork-coin sales on bitcoin itself, making doing nothing the safest move until the chains can be separated.By Shaurya Malwa|Edited by Stephen Alpher30 min ago3 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX iconX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on SummaryShowA planned Bitcoin fork tied to the controversial BIP-110 proposal could create duplicate balances on two chains, tempting holders to sell the new coins for what looks like free money.Because both chains would initially accept identical transactions, selling the forked coins could trigger a replay attack that also spends the seller’s real bitcoin on the main chain.Developers warn that, without built-in replay protection until at least early September, the safest course for non-experts is to avoid moving coins during the potential split.Bitcoin holders stand to lose real BTC this weekend by trying to sell coins from a fork that may not even be worth anything.Here is how it goes. Bitcoin may split into two chains in the next few days. If it does, everyone who holds bitcoin ends up holding the same balance twice, once on each chain. Then someone offers to buy the new coins at an unusually good price. They look like free money, so selling them can seem like an easy win.But take the deal and the buyer can take the seller's bitcoin too. Both chains initially accept identical transactions — so a transaction signed to send the fork coins can also be broadcast on bitcoin. The buyer receives the same amount in actual BTC at the same destination.This is called a replay attack. The safest move for anyone who does not know how to separate the two balances is to leave the coins alone.A replay does not drain the wallet. Only the coins put up for sale move, and they leave as real bitcoin rather than the fork version, with a transaction fee pa…

Bitcoin holders risk losing real BTC if they sell coins from BIP-110 fork, says developer

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