HitBTC, a cryptocurrency exchange known for its support for the FIX protocol, is offering its clients access to trading on Bitcoin Unlimited (BTU) before the expected hard fork of the Blockchain that will create it has even happened. Bitcoin Unlimited has been listed on the platform for trading from March 24.
The firm explains to its users that Bitcoin has faced massive problems in recent times due to its small block size. The transaction backlog is growing fast and it is taking more and more time to send funds, with many transactions getting stuck.
Solutions to this problem were offered by two parties: Bitcoin Core (SegWit) and Bitcoin Unlimited. However, the community is divided on the preferred option which many expect will lead to a hard fork and a possible split of the network. Last year we saw a similar situation with the Ethereum fork that resulted in the creation of ETH and ETC as separate chains.
“HitBTC aims to support cryptocurrency market development. That’s why we were one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges to support altcoins. It looks like some changes are going to happen in the near future and we want our customers to be part of these changes - not by reading news, but by trading,” said Andrew King, Product Manager at HitBTC
HitBTC also announced that BTC and BTU withdrawals are temporarily locked due to the “probable replay attack (a form of network attack) which may occur after the split.” Withdrawals will be unlocked soon after the hard fork is complete.
