Bitcoin Cash’s genesis is that of a hard fork – discontent with the actions of the Bitcoin Core chain, BCH forked to create the ‘true’ version of Bitcoin. As such, it’s no surprise that the Bitcoin Cash community dives directly for a hard fork at the slightest sign of conflict. Investors have rewarded such actions in the past, as hard forks result in a net gain of total coins held – but given weak market conditions, they may ultimately tire of the continued sell off.
The current crisis surrounds two major factions – Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV. Bitcoin ABC maintains most of the Bitcoin Cash infrastructure with only a handful of quality-of-life improvements. Meanwhile, Bitcoin SV (Satoshi’s Vision) vastly increases block size while completely overwriting the network scripts. In theory, Bitcoin ABC appeals more to investors, while SV appeals to miners. In practice, the lines are considerably more blurred.
The Looming Hard Fork
At just over a year old, Bitcoin Cash is a mixed bag of results. The hard fork originally intended to replace the Bitcoin blockchain. Now referred to as Bitcoin Core by BCH supporters, the original blockchain showed no ill effects as a result of the fork. While Bitcoin Cash remains an economically strong and functioning cryptocurrency, it’s increasingly clear that they will not be replacing BTC as the ‘true Bitcoin.’
Further, their actions in the hard fork aftermath did not gain them many admirers in the greater crypto-sphere. Bitcoin.com existed as a propaganda arm for Bitcoin Cash until this summer – when legal heat built high enough to force a change. Now, with the BCH-schism looming, the average investor may be growing concerned that similar situations may arise within the BCH community itself.
Leading the Bitcoin SV faction is Craig Wright – claiming that he is Satoshi Nakamoto while suggesting a slew of relatively extreme changes to BCH. Further, the continuing conflict is causing him to grow more erratic. Tossing veiled threats at the Bitcoin ABC lobby, Wright is not making any friends outside of his fanatic supporters.
Performance Versus Perception
As we have seen in the past, the hard fork’s winner may not be the better performer. Instead, investors will follow the perceived winner of the conflict – given Craig Wright’s volatile and inflammatory rhetoric, they may not believe that he can lead BCH in a prosperous direction. While they will line up for their ‘free’ split coins, we may see one or both sides instantly devalued once the coins are in hand. For the average cryptocurrency investor, value is more important than performance – and conflict is a poor indicator of value.
Article By: Adam Stone
