Cryptocurrency exchange Hitbtc.com has announced the launch of Bitcoin Unlimited (BTU) balances and trading pairs, betting on the possibility of a BU hard fork.
In its announcement, HitBTC claims that a Bitcoin Unlimited hard fork, followed by a network split, is “one of the possible outcomes,” due to the high congestion that the Bitcoin network has been experiencing over the past months.
Ahead of the possible network split, the exchange wants to “provide [its users] with the tools for avoiding any risk.”
All users who have had Bitcoins deposited to their accounts, as well as all new depositors, are given a BTU balance, credited with an equivalent amount of BTU coins. BTC/BTU pair is already available for trading on the exchange.
Given the fact that the BTU network itself is not live yet, the customers are using a derivative, which will be automatically converted into BTU coins if and when a network split takes place.
The exchange has put all Bitcoin withdrawals on hold for at least one week, highlighting the need to protect their users’ funds from potential replay attacks in case of a network split.