With less than 3 days to go for D-day that is August 1st, let me put down things that are topmost on the mind of anyone who owns Bitcoins or anyone who has some interest in Bitcoin.

Introduction:

First let me sum up what exactly is happening on August 1st for those who may not be familiar with the developments. Well there is a big Bitcoin split on the anvil, something that will impact everyone who owns or trades in Bitcoin. A group is trying to split Bitcoin into 2 groups by starting a new coin called Bitcoin Cash.

Things To Know Before The Split:

First and foremost you need to know the impact to you if you own Bitcoin. After the split you will be owning 2 coins because a new coin, Bitcoin Cash would have been created. You will need to check your wallet to see what it looks like after the split.

The next thing to check is to confirm that the exchange that you hold Bitcoin in will support the new coin.

Coinbase and GDX have clearly announced that they will not support Bitcoin Cash.

The exchanges have released announcements so if you are not aware of the status you may like to check whether your exchange will support Bitcoin Cash or not.

You also have to decide how much risk you want to take. Some may wait without making any changes to their wallet while others may like to hold a part of their Bitcoin and change the balance into fiat currency. This is a decision that you will need to take before the split happens.

You need to remember though that if you decide to sell your Bitcoin in advance without waiting for the split - then you will not be the recipient of the new Bitcoin Cash.

Which means that if you would like to own any Bitcoin Cash in the future you will need to buy it afresh.

Those who want to stay absolute safe are taking the route that has no risk at all. They are selling all their coins before the split thinking that they can buy it again after the split. They think that either the prices will go down or even if they are on the rise it will be a marginal increase.

Another option is to keep holding the entire amount without selling any with the expectation that the situation will stabilize in a few weeks or months. There is a certain amount of risk involved on this approach since no one can say for sure which way it will go.

Those who are buying more Bitcoin are doing so because they either expect the price to go up or wish to lay their hands on the new Bitcoin Cash which they think will have a high value.

You also need to check whether your exchange may stop Bitcoin related transactions on August 1st while waiting for the new code to take effect.

Lastly, don't give in to FUD(fear, uncertainty, doubt). Be calm and hope for the best especially if you decide to keep your Bitcoin as it is and not sell any of it. Optimism will be of help you in tiding over the crisis without causing yourself too much stress or harm.

Conclusion:

The split is inevitable and everyone is waiting with bated breath to see how things will unfold on that day. The best thing to do is to wait and watch after having put your strategy in place. Looking around the communities on the internet it seems like the general sentiment is that Bitcoin will hold steady in the long run although it is possible that it could suffer a fall initially after it splits. So let's hope for the best!

What are your thoughts at this point, while waiting for the split to happen? Please feel free to comment below.

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Image Sources: Pixabay, Giphy