In this post I’ll be explaining what I think is a relatively safe way to sell Segwit2X (S2X) coins. If you believe that the S2X chain will become THE bitcoin then you can do the same thing but by selling your BTC instead. I personally don’t agree with S2X and don’t see that it has a good place in the market considering that big block supporters already have Bitcoin Cash and most core supporters don’t want it. But this is a free market and you’re welcome to disagree with me.

There currently seems to be two lines of thought when it comes to profiting from bitcoin forks. Before we get into the method that I’ll be using, lets quickly run through what strategies others might be trying;

Wait for the fork, split the coins when it’s safe to do so then sell S2X for more BTC (or visa versa).

To maximize the amount of forked coins they get, most people would pool all their crypto into bitcoin leading up to the fork. This makes sense not just for getting more forked coin but also because, if you get it early enough, you can ride the pump while altcoins crash.

The problems with this strategy is;

• Without relay protection it will be risky to split your coins. I would expect some methods and splitting tools to come out eventually but I have not yet seen any good options yet.
• It will take time to sort this out. If most of the market are going to sell after they split their coins then you want to be ahead of the market so that you can get a good exchange rate.

Profit from trading to alt coins right before the fork.

We saw this play out quite clearly in the recent bitcoin gold fork. I think a lot of people recognised that the bitcoin gold that they were about to get was not going to be worth much and that trading into alt coins while they were cheap was probably going to result in better profits. Because of this we saw a very sudden transfer of money from bitcoin to altcoins about 30 minutes before the fork. I think it’s safe to assume that another altcoin dump and pump will be happening around the S2X fork. The main difference in this case is that the S2X coin is predicted to have a much higher value and so traders might prefer to stay in BTC right up until the fork happens rather than selling just before it.

In the method below I’ll explain how you might be able to profit from both selling your new coins (before the fork) and then riding the altcoin wave.

Step 1. Ride the Bitcoin wave.

It seems likely that over the coming weeks bitcoins dominance is going to grow and we might see altcoins crashing even further. I’ve already moved most of my crypto into bitcoin in anticipation that many others will do the same.

Step 2. Move your bitcoin to Bitfinex.

If you don’t have an account you will need to make one.

Yes I know everyone says not to hold your coins on an exchange and especially not during a fork. This is a risk you will have to weigh up for yourself. Bitfinex has a pretty good reputation and personally I think the risk is a lot lower than splitting coins without replay protection. Make sure you have setup the security properly with 2FA and move them back to a safe place after the fork.

Step 3. Use the CST token manager to split your BTC into BT1 and BT2.

Go to CSTs -> Token Manager

Select Bitcoin Segwit2x CSTs in the drop down box.

Select Convert BTC->BT1 and BT2

Fill in the amount you want to convert (this will be the amount you can sell later).

Read the terms and conditions first. Then submit. Note that this is reversible up until the time of the fork.

Step 4. Sell your BT2 tokens.

This is essentially the same as selling your future segwit2x coins.

To do this select CSTs –> Bitcoin Segwit2x CSTs –> BT2/BTC (note that if you want to sell your BTC instead of S2X then select BT1/BTC).

Then sell your BT2 for BTC by filling in the amount and the price you’re happy to sell at. You can set the price to higher than the current ask price and the order will fill if the market price rises to that level. Or if you want a quick sale set the price to the current market value. Then wait for the order to fill.

If you want to sell the S2X from the new bitcoin you just received from the sale than repeat step 3 and 4 above. Keep repeating.

You will now be holding all your coins in BT1 (if you sold it all) and should have more bitcoin than you did before. You will just need to hold your BT1 until the fork. If you need to cash out you can sell your BT1 at any time back to BTC or USD or you can use the token manager to turn BT1+BT2 into BTC.

Immediately after the time of the fork your BT1 tokens will automatically turn into BTC at a 1:1 basis. At this point the value will jump from the current market rate of BT1 (which is around 5k USD at this date) to the market rate of BTC (around 5.8k right now).

Step 5. Ride the altcoin wave.

My prediction is that very very soon after the time of the fork the value of BTC will start to dump and the value of altcoins will pump. It is reasonable to expect an even bigger pump than what we saw after the bitcoin gold fork as there are no more forks planned for the immediate future so many people will be wanting to get their alt coins back and diversify their portfolio again.

I suggest buying into a few altcoins immediately, not just to ride the altcoin wave but also because this gives you an opportunity to see what unfolds on the BTC versus S2X wars from the sideline.

You will want to be quick. Make sure you are going to be awake and available at the exact time of the fork and sell as soon as your BT1 turns into BTC. During the Bitcoin gold fork the token was transferred to BTC almost immediately at the time of the fork.

Step 6. Once the dust settles, buy back into the bitcoin of your choice.

And that’s it.

I’ve chosen this method because it guarantees that I can sell my S2X for a pretty decent value and I don’t need to worry about splitting my coins afterwards. It also means I can start trading almost immediately after the fork. I need to point out that this method still has risk. You will need to hold your bitcoin on an exchange that could be hacked. The coin that you choose to hold during the fork might become completely worthless if it’s not supported by miners and nodes. Bitfinex could choose to delay settlement of BT1 to BTC. The S2X coin could pump weeks later than the fork date (as we saw with bitcoin cash) so you might not be getting the best exchange rate now.

Do your own thinking. If you are not happy to assess the risk then just hold your bitcoin in a safe place until after the fork and wait for better options or more information on which chain will win.

IMPORTANT - You will can only use this method before the Segwit2X fork (currently scheduled for mid November 2017). You may not be able to use the bitfinex token manager after the fork.