Users are advised to wait for more confirmations than they usually would before accepting any payment as final. Bitcoin.org’s usual recommendation during network disruption is to wait for 30 confirmations.

Last updated: . This page will be updated when new information becomes available. See the list of updates .

Chain split

Since Bitcoin’s inception, its network has facilitated hundreds of millions of transactions. As a result, different groups of people (developers, investors, entrepreneurs, etc.), have debated on the best ways Bitcoin can be optimized to allow it to exponentially scale even further. In recent months, alternative software has been released that represents some of the interests of the aforementioned groups of people - software that is scheduled to go live toward the end of July.

The Bitcoin block chain, which is a record of all Bitcoin transactions to date, relies on a network of thousands of Bitcoin nodes running Bitcoin software. On , the Bitcoin block chain may experience what is known as a chain split. This is when a portion of Bitcoin’s nodes run software that another portion of nodes are not fully compatible with. As a result, some nodes may propagate confirmed transactions that other nodes may not accept or recognize. This may result in unreliable confirmation scoring for an unknown length of time. This means that any bitcoins you receive during this period could disappear from your wallet or be a type of bitcoin that other people will not accept as payment, until the situation is resolved.

Once the situation is resolved, confirmation scoring will either automatically return to their normal reliability or there will be two (or more) competing versions of Bitcoin as a result of a split block chain. In the former case, you may return to using Bitcoin normally; in the latter case, you will need to take extra steps in order to begin safely receiving bitcoins again.

This post currently describes what actions you can take to prepare for this situation. Subsequent to , we will update this post as best we can with relevant information, but you are also advised to monitor other Bitcoin news sites and community resources for updates and to cross-check all information, as someone may attempt to spread false news in order to exploit the situation.

Remember that you alone are responsible for the safety of your bitcoins, and that if you lose control of them for any reason, there is nothing the operators or contributors to this website can do to help you.

Note: there is a chance a milder level of disruption could start between now and . If that is the case, this post will be updated with details.