BitGo to Users: Swap Bitcoin SV for BTC Before Hard Fork Stuns Wallet

Digital currency management company BitGo has told users to move or convert funds they hold in altcoin Bitcoin SV (BSV) due to a compatibility problem.

In a blog post on Dec. 18, BitGo said BSV’s upcoming hard fork, known as Genesis, contained a protocol change which would mean its wallets will be unable to receive transactions.

BitGo warns of BSV “deprecation”

The hard fork is set to occur in February 2020. After that time, BitGo users will only be able to spend remaining BSV tokens, not accept incoming transactions.

Describing the event as “deprecation,” the company advised users to move their BSV to another wallet — or sell it altogether and convert it to Bitcoin (BTC). The post summarized:

“Clients will need to take one of two actions before February 4: 

Contact BitGo via sales@bitgo.com to convert your BSV holdings to Bitcoin 

Move BSV funds to an external wallet

If you continue holding BSV in your BitGo wallet after February 4th, you will only be able to sweep the wallet and most functionality will be disabled.”

Grim fortunes for altcoin

The issue with BSV stems from Genesis removing support for wallets that use a specific protocol known as Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH). BitGo uses P2SH-based multi-signature, or MultiSig, addresses, meaning the upgrade will instantly paralyze its entire client base.

BSV continues to face controversy as its price tumbles and its major proponent, Craig Wright, faces an ongoing multibillion-dollar legal battle.

Launched in December 2018, the token saw an all-time high of just under $240 in June this year. Since then, it has shed more than 66%, and currently trades at around $80.