In Brief Coinbase has reversed its position on Bitcoin Cash following the fork on August 1. Now the platform has said it will offer support for the fork by January 1, although it is waiting to decide whether or not to add trading support.

Coinbase has softened its stance on Bitcoin Cash. Now the company plans to introduce support for the fork in 2018. After Bitcoin Cash was created on August 1, Coinbase, along with other cryptocurrency exchanges, opted out of trading it since it is not yet proven. Coinbase also took the position that users with original Bitcoin couldnt claim their Bitcoin Cash entitlement.

However, the company has now changed its position somewhat: in an email and blog post, Coinbase indicated that it will support Bitcoin Cash by January 1, and wait to make a decision about trading support. Users that want to withdraw their Bitcoin Cash will need to wait until support is implemented.

The shift was probably due to the outcry by Coinbase customers, some of whom threatened to leave or take legal action against the platform. According to analytics firm BlockSeer, Coinbase lost about half of its cold storage reserves after customers withdrew, although many in the community are unconcerned about the fork.

It took less than two days for Bitcoin Cash to become the markets third largest cryptocurrency (based on total on-market coins). Its market cap of $7 billion follows Bitcoin ($44 billion) and Ethereum ($21 billion) by a significant amount, but given the recency of the fork, its share is still impressive.What happens next is anyones guess.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Coinbase Will Support Bitcoin Cash Starting in 2018 - Futurism