Why do people fear 1st Aug hardfork?

[iamTom123]

Because there could be a coin split and people are worried about that. A few different factions don't agree on what is a proper update and what isn't. Greed comes into play on all sides and it is worrisome.

You said it well. I think that is the main sentiment of ordinary Bitcoin holders like you and me. The possibility of a split can be a major cause of anxiety and this is reflecting right now on the market. So far, there is no one who can say definitely what can happen because Bitcoin (unlike Ethereum) has no single leader that can unite many stakeholders. We are dealing here with so many people and they are promoting their own self-vested business interests every time. That can be the sad reality affecting Bitcoin. There is so much greed and they tend to forget that they can be killing the very geese that lays the golden eggs.

However, I still have that strong faith on Bitcoin. Bitcoin can be able to surmount all of these present challenges it is facing and soon we can wake up with our dear Bitcoin already flying high. There is no big reason why we should not continue on supporting Bitcoin. We should tell all of the Bitcoin leaders to once and for all go for something that can be more beneficial for the many small Bitcoin holders and not just their own pockets.

[krishnapramod]

A lot of people are fearing the hard fork because they don't want to end up with two different types of bitcoin.  There are also some reports floating around that in the event of a hard fork, that if one of the chains doesn't survive, that some of the really old transactions would effectively be erased from the blockchain.  Whether there is any truth to that, I don't know.

Also certain hot wallets like Coinbase have openly stated they would only support one type of scaling option i believe.

1. That is why storing your bitcoins offline is the best option. As far as you have the private keys and your funds are not stored in exchanges, I don't think your coins would split in two, you have the full freedom to choose a chain of your choice. Some exchanges would give you the option to split your coins into two chains or move to a single chain, some exchanges based on their rules would split your coins without your consent, and maybe exchanges like Coinbase would only list a single coin.

2. In case of a split, all exchanges would stop buy/sell options maybe up to 24 hours to prevent any issues arising from replay attacks and network instability/vulnerability.

3. The split might be short-lived, based on economic majority, one chain would get the better of other and split would be over. Or it could go over a longer period of time, Ethereum Classic vs Ethereum is an example.

4. A soft fork adds new rules to the existing rules in the network, but a hard fork removes the existing rules and adds new so I guess a HF would make old transactions to be erased from the blockchain. Maybe I am wrong.

[brandeany]

again, do you still remember Bitcoin Unlimited? Is this the thing that will happen to Bitcoin on 1st Aug? How did Bitcoin Unlimited's event affect the market?

weren't there many Bitcoin splits in the past? Why do people fear this time? What about Bitcoin Unlimited ?

[Kakmakr]

A Chain split will not be good. It will influence the decentralization <nodes> and the security of the network. <hash power> It will also split the merchant network < merchants will have to chose what they will support > It will also increase confusion and slow down adoption. Bitcoin is at it's strongest when it has one big network. I have been saying from the start that our enemies are trying to implement a divide and conquer strategy and so far it has worked. ^grrrrrrrrr^

[Wesimon]

Maybe because they are doubtful about how bitcoin will be after the hardfork on august. They are afraid they will lose bitcoin in their account and btc value will dump.

[lawlawlaw]

hardfork. the btc value may drop or will double it's value.

[Hypnosis00]

The people that only fear about the hardfork in august 1st are the newbies because they don't have enough knowledge about bitcoin and the things that they can do to secure their bitcoins from the on going fork in the august 1st. There is a lot of positive effects of hardfork for me and one of them is to improve the block size of bitcoin and make its transactions faster.

[freedomno1]

In the past there were many hardfork events and I remember people did not fear them. Why does 1st Aug hardfork make people worry? And why don't they make it a softfork so Bitcoin won't be splitted?

Chaos and this one has a potential impact on the real supply depending on how hash signals and what occurs. The previous hardforks could be considered errors and corrected but part of normal operation this one would not be because it is a signal towards another path and adjustment.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2012799.0

[tiggytomb]

A lot of people are fearing the hard fork because they don't want to end up with two different types of bitcoin.  There are also some reports floating around that in the event of a hard fork, that if one of the chains doesn't survive, that some of the really old transactions would effectively be erased from the blockchain.  Whether there is any truth to that, I don't know.

Also certain hot wallets like Coinbase have openly stated they would only support one type of scaling option i believe.

1. That is why storing your bitcoins offline is the best option. As far as you have the private keys and your funds are not stored in exchanges, I don't think your coins would split in two, you have the full freedom to choose a chain of your choice. Some exchanges would give you the option to split your coins into two chains or move to a single chain, some exchanges based on their rules would split your coins without your consent, and maybe exchanges like Coinbase would only list a single coin.

2. In case of a split, all exchanges would stop buy/sell options maybe up to 24 hours to prevent any issues arising from replay attacks and network instability/vulnerability.

3. The split might be short-lived, based on economic majority, one chain would get the better of other and split would be over. Or it could go over a longer period of time, Ethereum Classic vs Ethereum is an example.

4. A soft fork adds new rules to the existing rules in the network, but a hard fork removes the existing rules and adds new so I guess a HF would make old transactions to be erased from the blockchain. Maybe I am wrong.

A lot of the exchanges will be listing as Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Unlimited so will be treating the alternative chain as an altcoin.  In either case I think moving coins into your own local wallet is the best thing to do http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-exchanges-unveil-emergency-hard-fork-contingency-plan/

[nidacoinlove]

i think the segwit2x is a soft fork or something near to it.
The fear is obvious in such a situation where you know that the Bitcoin  is going to split which could cause a difficulties for the bitcoin holders, regarding the price of the bitcoin and even loss of your coins if not protected.

[daringdiscovered]

Because this Hard fork is not just a topic here in the crypto that we should ignore, this is a serious problem since for sure the first one that will be affected is the bitcoin's price, that is why we do fear this Hard fork that will happen on August 1, but we are still not sure if this thing is really going to happen, because the last time, this was just a whale, and didn't happen, so let's pray that this will not going to happen.

[coinmore_org]

August 1st will be a non event. Bitcoin will mostly likely not scale until early 2018.
As you can see Bitcoin does NOT need to scale now. The mempool is back to acceptable levels and the network fees have decreased substantially. Bitcoin "status quo" is better than Bitcoin "segwit2x" or any other messy/rash upgrade. Bitcoin does not need to rush this upgrade or it might well regret it in the future.

[dady12]

people are afraid because this is a point of making an important  decision on one of the major cryptocurrency,most people have investor alot and still want to invest more on bitcoin,should bitcoin split into two like we already had in the past,the price won t remain the same as either bitcoin price goes  up or it will go down and this will generally affect the market and other altcoin,so many people predicted the price to rise but you can't tell until August 1st

[kodes88]

In the past there were many hardfork events and I remember people did not fear them. Why does 1st Aug hardfork make people worry? And why don't they make it a softfork so Bitcoin won't be splitted?

i think you no need to worry,its just hardfork,bitcoin will split,and if you storing your bitcoin on wallet,its best decision to avoid any unwanted things,because you should remember that holding cryptocurrency on an exchange is not recommended even during non-eventful times,after a blockchain split customers storing bitcoin on an exchange will have to succumb to the rules of that specific trading platform. just my opinion

[JimmieA]

On August 1, the btc system will have the changes. It is possible that btc will be divided into two currencies and this will impact the price of btc causing it to drastically decrease. Of course it will affect the number of btc that people are having, reducing the profits they make or may be at a loss.

[~Bitcoin~]

Bitcoin network might split into two and many worries that price will dump hard because bitcoin's total marketcap will be shared by those two splitted coins.

Many newbie fear to loss coin in another chain after a split because they don't know how to get coins in both chain.

Pro-traders are just creating fud regarding possible hardfork after segwit to create panic on market and get cheap coins from the market.

[X-ray]

A lot of people are fearing the hard fork because they don't want to end up with two different types of bitcoin.  There are also some reports floating around that in the event of a hard fork, that if one of the chains doesn't survive, that some of the really old transactions would effectively be erased from the blockchain.  Whether there is any truth to that, I don't know.

Also certain hot wallets like Coinbase have openly stated they would only support one type of scaling option i believe.

1. That is why storing your bitcoins offline is the best option. As far as you have the private keys and your funds are not stored in exchanges, I don't think your coins would split in two, you have the full freedom to choose a chain of your choice. Some exchanges would give you the option to split your coins into two chains or move to a single chain, some exchanges based on their rules would split your coins without your consent, and maybe exchanges like Coinbase would only list a single coin.

2. In case of a split, all exchanges would stop buy/sell options maybe up to 24 hours to prevent any issues arising from replay attacks and network instability/vulnerability.

3. The split might be short-lived, based on economic majority, one chain would get the better of other and split would be over. Or it could go over a longer period of time, Ethereum Classic vs Ethereum is an example.

4. A soft fork adds new rules to the existing rules in the network, but a hard fork removes the existing rules and adds new so I guess a HF would make old transactions to be erased from the blockchain. Maybe I am wrong.

A lot of the exchanges will be listing as Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Unlimited so will be treating the alternative chain as an altcoin.  In either case I think moving coins into your own local wallet is the best thing to do http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-exchanges-unveil-emergency-hard-fork-contingency-plan/

Are you spreading FUD? I was the old news that the majority of the voters are supporting segwit till it reach 90 percent of the signal. But your link looks give the more panic feel to the bitcoin holders.
The split will never be happened and you can try to erase the BTuseless coin from bitfinex.  

[juljon18]

I don't fear the fork however I'm anticipating the fear of others to hopefully grab a good deal.   

[akuser]

I am not afraid of anything, this is an improvement and for the future bitcoin better. But most importantly do not panic and keep thinking positive.
My problem is: i do not have much bitcoin.  

[A.H.Rassel]

Since the hard fork may cause a chain split which could put clients at chance losing their bitcoin and that is the reason a few clients dreaded the forthcoming chain part on August 1. The reason is if segwit2x didn't get enough help from the mineworkers before August 1, UASF will initiate on August 1 and will cause a chain split.I believe it's the matter of first Aug hard fork make individuals stress