The Bitcoin price dropped over $700 Friday as investors show new enthusiasm for rival altcoin Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Bitcoin Classic: Bitcoin Cash ‘Will Be Bitcoin In 6 Months’
In the days since the cancellation of the SegWit2x hard fork, the original Bitcoin chain (BTC) price fell to around $6500 from its all-time highs around $7800.
As investors realized they would not be able to profit from ‘free’ SegWit2x balances, attention turned to BCH as developers announced a hard fork of their own.
This Bitcoin Cash fork could potentially spark a second chain of the altcoin, giving investors equivalent balances.
Expectations increased over the past 24 hours as Bitcoin Classic announced it was shutting down while officially endorsing BCH to become ‘Bitcoin’ within just six months.
In a farewell post earlier this week, Classic’s release manager Tom Zander wrote:
It is now up to the next billion people to start to use Bitcoin Cash. In at most 6 months, I’m sure we’ll just drop the ‘Cash’ and call it ‘Bitcoin’.
Investors Seize The Day To Short Next ‘Bitcoin’ Chain
Zander is just one of the well-known Bitcoin industry figures coming out in support of BCH both before and after SegWit2x’s ‘death.’
Aside from major proponents Roger Ver and Jihan Wu, SegWit2x supporters are giving the limelight to BCH, focusing consumer attention in the process.
“We shall see,” BitPay co-founder Tony Gallippi wrote in response to a pro-2x tweet by BTCC CEO Bobby Lee.
judging by the action in bitcoin cash (BCH) today it appears there is an appetite for bigger blocks and lower transaction costs. we shall see
— Tony Gallippi (@TonyGallippi) November 10, 2017
As a result of the publicity and support pre-fork, BCH’s fortunes have dramatically turned around this week. Prices are at an all-time high nearing $1000 according to data from Coinmarketcap.
If any increase in purchases appears, this may likely be due to Ver’s Bitcoin.com now guiding users to purchase only BCH rather than BTC, the entrepreneur himself announced this week.
With an influx of investment, only steadfast BTC proponents cast an alternative light on the market. Bitcoin.org and Bitcointalk co-founder Cobra warned Twitter users BCH was “centrally controlled” and “doesn’t have a good future” regardless of its current support.
BCH development is centrally controlled by @deadalnix who I believe is just a puppet for @JihanWu and @rogerkver. This coin doesn't have a good future.
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) November 10, 2017
What do you think about Bitcoin’s price decline and Bitcoin Cash’s growth? Let us know in the comments below!
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