It's Raining Free Crypto for Bitcoin Holders

First came Bitcoin Cash, then Bitcoin Gold, followed by announcements of Bitcoin Diamond, Super Bitcoin, Bitcoin Platinum, Lightning Bitcoin and now a plethora of Bitcoin blockchain hard forks and airdrops are flooding onto the scene​. Some are fake, while others are jokes or even scams, however, many will turn out to be legitimate and this is good news for Bitcoin holders.

If you hold Bitcoin and control your own private key, then you are entitled to free amounts of these fork created cryptocurrencies as they become available. The number of free coins is usually equivalent to the quantity of Bitcoin you own at the time of the fork, although there are some cases where the ratio is as high as ten to one.

Here are some tips for keeping your Bitcoin safe and getting the most out of all of these potential cryptocurrency dividends.
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1. Use a hardware wallet, such as a Trezor or Ledger Nano S, to store your Bitcoin. This puts you in control of your private key and gives you the greatest potential for receiving free crypto. If instead, you keep your Bitcoin at an exchange, then they decide which fork coins, if any, you will get.
   
   
2. Never reveal your Bitcoin wallet private key or seed phrase to a website that asks for it. There are many scam websites and social media accounts that have been set up to steal your Bitcoin.  Some of these appear almost identical to the legitimate sites and accounts that they mimic. They claim that you need to enter your private key or seed phrase in order to claim a particular dividend. This is not true and if you do, you will never see your Bitcoin again.
   
   
3. When it comes to claiming a specific cryptocurrency divided, check the official website of your hardware wallet for notifications and instructions of how to proceed.
   
   
4. Once you have claimed your free coins, consider selling them and using the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin. This is a way to increase your BTC holdings without having to dip into your household budget. Of course, you could also cash them out, as a way to take some profits without having to sell any of your Bitcoin. The other option is to hold your freely acquired altcoins, or a portion of them, as a means of diversification. All of this needs to be weighed up carefully according to your financial situation at the time.
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5. If you do sell your free crypto and use it to boost your Bitcoin savings, then when the next hard fork coin comes along, you will get more of it. Rinse and repeat.