Born August 1, 2017, Bitcoin Cash is to its proponents what Bitcoin ought to be. As of now, it features 8mb blocks as opposed to one or two. Its transaction time is just under a minute and a half per block, and its fees are low, about seven cents per transaction. However, Bitcoin Cash did not take over Bitcoin after the fork. Let’s look at a few reasons why. 1. Segwit worked Litecoin’s SegWit activation led to adoption and drove prices higher. Perhaps, some traders took wind of this and held Bitcoin despite some negative sentiment. 2. Access and adoption wasn’t
Born August 1, 2017, Bitcoin Cash is to its proponents what Bitcoin ought to be. As of now, it features 8mb blocks as opposed to one or two. Its transaction time is just under a minute and a half per block, and its fees are low, about seven cents per transaction. However, Bitcoin Cash did not take over Bitcoin after the fork. Let’s look at a few reasons why.
1. Segwit worked
Litecoin’s SegWit activation led to adoption and drove prices higher. Perhaps, some traders took wind of this and held Bitcoin despite some negative sentiment.
2. Access and adoption wasn’t wide
Not everyone that knew about the fork took advantage of it. Some kept their coins on Coinbase or another online wallet or exchange that did not divvy up a fork dividend.
3. The retailers weren’t ready
The old credo, “Build it and they will come” did not not apply. Retailers and restaurants that accepted Bitcoin just weren’t there leaving Bitcoin Cash without the killer app it could have used.
4. Name recognition
When it comes to cryptocurrencies, anything new comes with both speculation and, perhaps, a bit of paranoia. No one knew what would happen with either coin after the fork. But SegWit had proven to work with Litecoin. And the market loves predictability, especially when it comes to an event such as the integration of optimizing software.
5. No easily recognizable utility or network
The chant for bigger blocks has been sounding to a crescendo for the past couple of years, and SegWit proponents’ negation of this has kept pace. The lay user of bitcoin never really understood what the fight was truly about, and can hardly tell the difference between the two.
Bitcoin is expecting another fork in November. However, after the first fork (Aug 1), speculators and traders have learned that staying along for the ride with Bitcoin for the forked coin may prove profitable. Especially if they can ride the storm for both coins.
There was a palpability for fear in the market as a lot of altcoins saw their growth slowly decline. Traders were jumping ship to bitcoin. Who can blame them? Bitcoin is now cruising past five thousand and nearing six as of the time of writing. On the other hand, we watched altcoins suffer this past week. Bitcoin Cash has caught itself in a balancing act., as its supporters have to maintain a code that will lead to profitability for miners in order to ensure the long term success of the cryptocurrency.