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The hows, the whys and the wherefores of Bitcoin Cash
July 2017
No sooner had the Bitcoin community breathed a huge collective sigh of relief the moment it appeared miners were way more eager to go along with SegWit than initially anticipated, when seemingly out of nowhere, we were clobbered with a completely new unknown ahead, the Bitcoin Cash UAHF.
Bitcoin Cash came out of the blue, because those responsible, a small faction of Bitcoin partisans and a group of investors keen to see Bitcoin become more of a currency than a store of value, realized that the activation of SegWit was suddenly no longer going to exacerbate the rift between the two opposing Bitcoin camps. The moment their hidden agenda was no longer going to be played out in their favour, the pro-Bitcoin Cash supporters threw their contingency spanner in the works, in a desperate attempt to get what they want yet.
It's now clear, however, that this by hook or by crook approach hasn't worked. In fact, odds are that the Bitcoin Cash fork is going to blow up in its proponents' faces.
For starters, apart from the modest dip in the Bitcoin value, the feared Bitcoin Cash UAHF turned out to be a complete non-event. There was non of the panic that some quarters foresaw. It was pretty much a lot of much ado about nothing. Bitcoin itself barely flinched.
To be sure, Bitcoin Cash's value did go up quite rapidly right after the fork was complete. But this was not so much due to real demand for this off-shoot as much as the fact that newly minted Bitcoin Cash is quite illiquid and, indeed, not even accessible to most holders the first few days.
As of now, only a handful of exchanges (Kraken.com being one) support Bitcoin Cash, which, combined with the very slow block mining turnover, resulted in very few traders being able to actually sell the newly minted coin. It was this lopsided scenario that caused the Bitcoin Cash increase.
Clearly, Bitcoin Cash is not exactly filling the void the Bitcoin Cash camp anticipated it would. Bitcoin Cash seems destined to play a minor role at best, at least for the foreseeable future. Of course with cryptocurrencies you best not take anything for granted, so if you received your Bitcoin Cash, then it's probably a good idea to hang on to them for the time being.
Update 1: Other exchanges, including Coinbase and GDAX, have now indicated they will be supporting Bitcoin Cash. However, this doesn't appear to have any effect on the nascent coin's value, as it's still languishing.
Update 2: Word is that casinos will start using Bitcoin Cash as a kind of gambling token. Once this comes to pass, it will surely be the death-knell for Bitcoin Cash as a global currency, because no self-respecting merchant will want to be associated with the shady world of gambling, even if it's the legal kind of gambling. Still, if the online casino industry is a niche that works for Bitcoin Cash, then why not? Everybody happy.
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Disclaimer
I wrote the above article myself and it expresses my own personal opinions and views on Bitcoin. I am unable to guarantee that the information and/or results will be correct. Furthermore, whilst I own some cryptocurrencies, I do not receive compensation for my writing and I have no business relationship with any of the companies mentioned in above article. In addition, I am not an investment advisor and above article is for purely informational purposes. Investors are advised to personally undertake adequate due diligence, or to consult a financial advisor in order to determine what assets - if any - are appropriate to invest in.
Bryan
Bryan, a Singapore PR, has spent two separate stints in Singapore, spanning close to two decades. As is the case for most non-techies, although Bryan's first exposure to Bitcoin was around 2010, it wasn't love at first sight. However, Bitcoin's impressive resilience, meteoric rise and world-changing potential have converted Bryan, to the extent that he has now pivoted to fully commit to Bitcoin.
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