A Bitcoin Shakeup or Shakeout?

Although I first bought BTC more than two years ago and use it regularly to pay some bills online, I'm not sure about all things technical with virtual currencies, and basically still consider myself to be relatively new to the world of crypto. While I might sound like a genius to anyone who knows nothing at all about cryptocurrencies, I'm a genuine noob inside the rabbit hole, especially when it comes to the matrix of Altcoins and such.

I do know that the many folks who hold BTC have been nervously awaiting any affirmation on the tecnical curve ball (hardfork/softfork) that's coming. Some have already conceded that the hard fork has been avoided and have taken the opportunity to buy at the recent dip. I believe the mood of the market is confirmation enough of the outcome, but you just never know.

But just in case, and on the upside of it all, I received a message from the exchange I use (Coinbase) and will share it with Steemit. They are providing some assurance that BTC holdings will be safe during these upcoming developments. The message is posted below: \

Dear Coinbase Customer,

We are contacting you to make you aware of recent developments in a number of proposals for technical changes to Bitcoin. All BTC stored on Coinbase will remain safe during these events described below.

The User Activated Hard Fork (UAHF) is a proposal to increase the Bitcoin block size scheduled to activate on August 1. The UAHF is incompatible with the current Bitcoin ruleset and will create a separate blockchain. Should UAHF activate on August 1, Coinbase will not support the new blockchain or its associated coin.

The User Activated Soft Fork (UASF) is a proposal to adopt Segregated Witness on the Bitcoin blockchain and could result in network instability. It is scheduled to activate at the same time as the UAHF.

To ensure the safety of customers’ funds, we will temporarily suspend BTC deposits, withdrawals, and buy/sell starting approximately 4 hours before activation of either fork.

If you do not wish to have access to UAHF coins, and do not wish to access your BTC during the fork, you are not required to take any action.
If you do wish to have access to UAHF coins or access your BTC during the fork, you should send your BTC from Coinbase to your external address by July 31.

For more information on these potential Bitcoin forks, please refer to this [article:] (https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/2844217-uahf-uasf-faq)

Thank you,

Coinbase Team

I hope this makes some people feel better, I know it does me.