Important Information
Please note that CoinJar cannot guarantee or promise that any future forks or airdrops will be supported or credited by CoinJar.
Unless specified explicitly, CoinJar does not withhold or retain the tokens from airdrops and/or blockchain forks. We make every reasonable effort to distribute such tokens whenever possible.
We will publish any notices relating to the addition of new cryptocurrencies, forks and airdrops via email, our blog, and our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
What is a blockchain fork?
When a new feature or change to a cryptocurrency is implemented, the blockchain of that currency undergoes a "chain split", or fork. If the change is significant enough that it renders previously created blocks incompatible with the new changes, it is referred to as a "hard fork", and the blockchain will effectively duplicate, splitting off into a new cryptocurrency with its own tokens/coins.
For hard forks, anyone who controls the private keys of that cryptocurrency (in a private wallet) before the fork can "split" that amount and receive the same number of new tokens at a 1:1 ratio. For example, on October 25, 2017 the Bitcoin network underwent a chain split, resulting in the creation of a new Bitcoin fork and an alternative cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin Gold (BTG). If you controlled private keys for 10 BTC at the time of this blockchain event, you were eligible to split the balance and receive an additional 10 BTG.
Because CoinJar controls the private keys of any funds stored in a CoinJar account, this is something to take into consideration leading up to a new fork.
What is an Airdrop?
An airdrop is when coins or tokens are sent to wallet addresses as a part of a promotional initiative in order to garner attention around a new token.
Handling a blockchain fork
CoinJar does not typically support newly created tokens at the time of the event, and is not responsible for access to any tokens created during a chain split. Our primary focus is to ensure any funds stored in CoinJar is kept as secure as possible, and we continue to monitor such blockchain events closely to ensure all CoinJar customer funds are safe.
In the event of an upcoming blockchain event that will result in the creation of a new token, we always recommend to withdraw your funds to a privately hosted wallet if you wish to take advantage of the chain split. Although we've offered a claim period for Bitcoin Cash in the past, we cannot always guarantee a claim period for future blockchain events.
Blockchain forks do not affect the balances within CoinJar accounts.
Noteworthy blockchain events
The Ethereum Merge
Date expected: Sep 15, 2022
This event will result in the consensus mechanism of the Ethereum blockchain being changed from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. The Merge will occur at the Total Terminal Difficulty of 58750000 which expected to happen on September 15.
No action is required from CoinJar members. Do not send ETH to any organisations or individuals that claim to upgrade your ETH to ETH2. There is no "ETH2" token.
For more information, please visit ethereum.org.
Terra Luna 2.0
Date expected: May 27, 2022 onwards
This event will result in the creation of a new Terra chain. CoinJar has no plans to support or distribute the new LUNA token. CoinJar members who hold UST will not be eligible for any airdrops in relation to this event.
PulseChain (PLS)
Date: May 13, 2022.
Type: ETH airdrop
This event resulted in the distribution of new tokens on the new Pulsechain blockchain. CoinJar doesn't support or distribute PLS, HEX or any other ERC20 tokens on the Pulsechain.
SOLO (Airdrop for XRP holders)
Date expected: December 24, 2021 onwards
This event will result in the distribution new token - SOLO. CoinJar has no plans to support or distribute SOLO. Please withdraw your funds to a privately hosted wallet to claim newly created tokens.
Spark (Flare network)
Type: Utility fork of XRP.
This event will result in the distribution new token - Spark. CoinJar has no plans to support or distribute Spark. Please withdraw your funds to a privately hosted wallet to claim newly created tokens.
Flare Network's official blog post
Ethereum (Istanbul)
Date expected : 08/12/19 (block 9,069,000)
Type: Ethereum network upgrade.
This Ethereum network upgrade is a hard fork, however is not contentious and no additional token will be created.
YCash
Date expected : 19/07/19 (block 570,000).
Type: Zcash hard fork.
This Zcash event will result in the creation of a new token - Ycash (YEC). CoinJar has no plans to support or distribute Ycash. Please withdraw your funds to a privately hosted wallet to claim newly created tokens.
Ethereum (Constantinople)
Original date expected (postponed): 17/01/19.
Date expected : 1/03/19.
Type: Ethereum network upgrade.
This Ethereum network upgrade is a hard fork, however is not contentious and no additional token will be created. We anticipate a downtime period of at least one hour during the upgrade.
The Lightning Network
Date: 2018 onwards.
Type: BTC development.
The CoinJar platform does not utilise the Lightning Network at this time.
Segwit
Date: 24/08/17.
Type: BTC soft fork.
The CoinJar platform utilises Segwit for incoming and outgoing bitcoin transfers at this time, when P2SH addresses ('3' addresses) are used for sending and receiving.
Segwit2x
Date: 16/11/17.
Type: BTC hard fork.
Plans for Segwit2x were ultimately abandoned. Please refer to our dedicated Knowledge Base article for further details.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Date: 01/08/17.
Type: BTC hard fork.
BCH remains unsupported on the CoinJar platform. A 60 day claim period was offered to affected customers who did not withdraw their funds before the date of the chain split.
Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
Date: 25/10/17.
Type: BTC hard fork.
BTG is not supported on the CoinJar platform. There are no plans to provide a claim system for BTG at this stage, however this may be offered in the future.
Litecoin Cash (LCC)
Date: 18/02/18.
Type: LTC hard fork.
We do not plan on supporting or providing a claim period for Litecoin Cash.