With the new year officially underway, millions around the world are currently working on their new selves and resolutions. Even Ethereum is creating a new identity in January. Actually, make those several new identities. This month will see Ethereum experience several hard forks, the most significant being Classic Vision, Ethereum Nowa, and Constantinople. How will this affect the stability of ETH?
3 ETH HARD FORKS IN JANUARY TO LOOK OUT FOR
The first of these three, significant hard forks is Classic Vision. Coming January 11, 2019, Classic Vission Hard Fork (ETCV) will see all Ethereum holders receive 3 ETCV for each ETH in their wallets. Just the very next day, Ethereum Nowa Fork (ETN) will occur. This will see each ETH holder receive ETN in their wallet at the ratio of 1:1 for free. Lastly, the Constantinople Fork occurring on January 16 is the most significant of the three. Scheduled for block #7080000, the Constantinople Minnet hard fork is a huge component of Ethereum’s transition from using a proof of work protocol to proof of stake. So now we know the dates of all the forks, what do they really mean for your profits?
WILL ETH HARD FORKS DECREASE THE VALUE OF ETH?
Ethereum is in a tough spot. Perhaps now more than ever. Blockchain competitors like Cardano, EOS, and Zilliqa are gaining popularity, even though they lost 90% of their value this past year. Add the fact that hard forks tend to weaken the overall support for a given blockchain network, and you have a potentially bad situation for Ethereum. If these competitors continue to grow together (like they’ve been doing) while ETH breaks apart into fragments, they will lose the ability to function on the same scale as Cardano or EOS. That being said, there is a beacon of hope in the form of the Constantinople fork.
Seeing as the Constantinople fork will help Ethereum move to POS protocol, this could be the type of positive hype ETH needs for a bull run. Ultimately, what investors need to know is ETH is in a transitional period right now and they need to prepare so accordingly.
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR PORTFOLIO FOR THE ETH HARD FORKS
In order to make sure you get the most out of these ETH hard forks, you want to make sure your portfolio is well positioned. One possible option is for you to freeze your ETH assets as a precaution if it’s value will decline after the fork. For example, you could use a crypto lending platform like YouHodler to hold your ETH assets as collateral. Meanwhile, you use the cash from them to reinvest in something more profitable. When ETH comes back up, you can pay off your loan and get your assets back.
Another option would to put your crypto up as collateral and use the loan to buy various types of crypto in an effort to diversify your portfolio. A diversified or hedged portfolio is always safer in the event of a bearish market. OF course, there are just a couple possible methods to prepare yourself for what happens after these ETH hard forks. In the end, it’s nearly impossible to predict the outcome but it’s always better to start planning preemptively.
