How do I move my BTC out of an exchange and into my own control?

Why would I want to move my BTC out of an exchange?

• You risk losing your new BCC tokens.
• On August 1, BTC will be forked (i.e. copied) to create an equal amount of BCC tokens which use the same addresses and private keys as the originating BTC.
• If you control your private keys, you get to keep (or sell) your BCC.
• Most exchanges will not be supporting BCC unless it becomes very popular, which is a judgement call that each exchange will make for itself.
• If you don't want to risk missing out on your own BCC tokens, you want to have your BTC where you personally control the private keys now.
• After the August 1 split, you can move your BTC back, if you want, and still keep (or sell) your BCC.

How do I move my BTC out of an exchange and into my own control?

1. Get a wallet client where you have control of your private keys. (eg Jaxx, Electrum, etc)
2. As a test, move a tiny amount of BTC from your exchange to your new wallet and back, and make sure it's okay. It's tempting to skip this step when rushing, but please do it anyway.
3. In the exchange, transfer your coins to the new wallet. Some exchanges are locking withdraws on July 31, so be sure to do it before then. If your coins are locked in a 48-hour-delay "vault," then you are nearly out of time already.
4. After the August 1 hard-fork, your new private keys will control your BTC and an equal amount of BCC. The two are handled completely distinctly after the fork, so moving one will not affect the other.
5. Optional #1: Move your BTC (back to the exchange or into a new address) so that it no longer shares the same private key as your BCC.
6. Optional #2: Move your BCC into an exchange which supports BCC trading.

Is XYZ wallet okay to use?

• Wallet Client or hardware wallet: Probably okay. Just to be sure, try to export the private key or generate the private key using a seed (if you have the seed). If you can, then you'll be okay.
• Cold storage: You're already set, and don't need to do anything.
• Online wallet: Verify that you can get an export of the private key. If not, then move them.
• Exchange or similar: Move your coins. Most claim they will support BCC if it becomes very popular, but I wouldn't risk it.

How much BCC will I get?

• You get an equal amount of BCC that you control in BTC at the time of the fork.

Can I move my BTC back after the split? or will I lose my BCC?

• Yes, you can move them back. After the split, the two currencies are treated separately.

Why might I want to keep my BTC in an exchange?

• There are risks which exchanges manage for you, such as keeping the keys secure from hackers and physical loss.
• If you can't trust yourself to keep a wallet secure and safe from loss, then this might not be worth the risk to you.

I still don't understand this whole thing. ELI5?

• Think of a bitcoin private key as a file with a ".btc" extension. A wallet is a folder holding these files.
• August 1st, all .btc files will be copied, and the copies will have a new extension ".bcc" These files will still be in the same folder next to the original .btc files.
• If you have the private keys for your BTC, then you also have the BCC private keys -- because the keys are exactly the same same, with a different extension.
• After the copy, you can move/change/delete either file without affecting the corresponding copy/original.