Six mistakes that cost people XBT, and how to avoid them
Most XBT losses so far haven't come from the price. They came from avoidable mistakes during claiming, sending and selling. Here are the six we see most, and how to avoid each one.
1. Spending pre-fork bitcoin before you split
If you held BTC on Aug 8, the same coins exist on both chains. A normal bitcoin transaction can be copied onto XBT, or the other way around, and move coins you didn't mean to move. Split first, then spend. How replay works and how to split.
2. Typing your bitcoin seed into anything new
"Claim your XBT" sites and unverified apps are the easiest way to lose both coins at once. Move your BTC to a fresh wallet first. Only then use the old seed, and only in open-source wallets like Shrike or the Sparrow BLAKE2b build, downloaded from the project's own page with the signature checked.
3. Sending to the wrong chain
XBT and BTC addresses look identical. Nothing stops you from sending XBT to an exchange's BTC deposit address, or BTC to an XBT one, and the exchange may not be able to recover it. Copy deposit addresses from the right coin's page every time, and send a small test first.
4. Market-selling into a thin book
On Oct 11, about $90K of selling pushed XBT down 15% in under an hour (the story). A market order fills at whatever the book offers. Use limit orders, split big sells, and check both NeoxEX and NonKYC, which can be 4% apart.
5. Leaving coins on an exchange
XBT trades on a small number of young exchanges. Check proof of reserves where it exists, then withdraw what you're not actively trading to a wallet you control. Our cold storage guide shows a $60 setup.
6. Trusting a regular bitcoin wallet
Normal bitcoin wallets can't read XBT's chain, so they show nothing, or worse, show your BTC and invite you to move it. Use an XBT-aware wallet to look at XBT. How to see your XBT balance.
Not financial advice.