As a non-techy type of person with limited ability, I'm not sure if I understand ThomasV's undoubtedly good, solid, expert advice. Terms like 'RBF' and 'binaries' just lose me, let alone fiddling about with code, although I'm reasonably sure that essentially such things are easy to understand by the experienced. To help get my mind around the problem of coin-splitting and countering the replay attack would this work:
Using two computers (A with original the wallet and B with a freshly installed wallet), both running on Windows, copy the [Electrum] folder located in the [Roaming] folder on Computer A to the [Roaming] folder of Computer B, overwriting the the fresh wallet's Electrum folder with the original wallet's Electrum folder.
- On Computer A, open the Electrum wallet and turn off automatic-connect and manually select a server running Core BTC. Would this effectively make the Electrum A wallet a Core BTC wallet?
- On Computer B, open the Electrum wallet and turn off automatic-connect and manually select a server running Unlimited BTU. Would this effectively make the Electrum B wallet an Unlimited BTU wallet?
Well, would this be enough to split the two coins? But what about Replay attacks - how could they be prevented in this scenario if this approach is feasible?
Yes but before the hardfork you just gonna have 2 wallet using the same funds (i.e. BTC). The coin splitting will operate only when the blockchain fork. And replay attack gonna be avoid only if the relay on the network is clean and disallow a BTU node to relay a tx on the BTC network, and this is the hard part I think.
Or, should I just simply send my BTC to an exchange shortly after a hard fork and let the exchange do the coin splitting etc. for me?
If you send your BTC shortly after the hardfork you gonna have to cases possible :
1/ only the BTC goes to the exchange (cause we are after the hard fork so your coin are already split (in fact not your coin but the blockchain has forked.)) so what is the point ?
2/ a replay attack (not really an attack on that case) made your BTC going the the exchange, and your BTU also, but you have to check the Terms and condition of your exchange to know their action regarding BTU. You could simply loose your BTU.
And I think your question is more, should I place my BTC
before the hardfork to let the split occur in the hand of the exchange.
Hell no, you let the power to decide if yes or no some tier gonna give you back some BTU you didn't depose first (as their was BTC).
I think this is a bet on how the exchange gonna be honnest, please remember they are business first. (I'm no telling that all the exchange gonna play it fair, I'm just underlining that this is a risk you take)
My best advise for all of you who didn't understand the mechanical of a hardfork, is to focus on how blockchain work, and what happend when a fork occur (orphan block is a fork, just the network stop working on the fork and stay on the main chain. BU is made to continu working on the forked side of the chain, this is the mechanisme to understand.)
