Is it safe to store your Bitcoin in hot wallets like Unocoin, Zebpay and others during the Fork?

Everytime Bitcoin organisations announces the Fork panic happens all around the world. Everyone who has bitcoins in their online (Hot) wallets gets into dilemma about the safety of their coins.

What is Fork?

As fork suggests split and it justifies its meaning here. Fork is the event when existing blockchain splits into two and from that block two separate blockchain continues with same history.

What is there for you during Fork?

So when blockchain splits, exchanges or Hot wallets have to make a decision to support the chain i.e. the old existing chain or the one which is newly generated. Generally exchanges go with the masses i.e. supports the chain which is backed more number of users.

After fork, new coin born which is associated to new chain. With this fork new coins with numbers exactly equal to the number of existing bitcoins till the fork block are pre-generated and upper cap of the new coin will be decided for the new chain. If you own certain amount of bitcoins online/offline during the fork, you are eligible for the equivalent new coins as well.

If you are holding your coins in cold wallet (Offline wallet – Paper wallet or Hardware wallet). You are safe and can claim your new coins after certain time. But if you are holding your coins in hot wallets (Online wallets – Zebpay, Unocoin and others) then you need to worry little bit as you might not be able to avail the free new coins. This depends on the exchange, if exchange is supporting new chain (associated new coin) then you are eligible to claim your equivalent new coins. Some exchanges might not support new chain hence new coin then your new free coins are gone and you will not be able to avail them ever.

Note :- If more users support new chain, value of new born token/coin increases.