2017 has seen Bitcoin shatter one record after another as it continues to defy critics. This week saw Bitcoin breaking yet another new ATH (All Time High) with prices climbing by approximately 20%, putting it at just over $3400.
In the Calm After the Storm Bitcoin Prices Steady, Climb
In the last few months, Bitcoin has been riddled with uncertainty about what would happen come August 1st. At first, it was the rise in support for BIP 148, then the announcement of Segwit2x. Finally, Bitcoin Cash forked off from the main chain at the beginning of the month, the aftermath of which absolutely no one could predict. But even with all the turmoil, it seems like Bitcoin will not only survive but thrive.
The price of one Bitcoin again smashed its all time high of just around $2850, which was hit in early June. On Friday, the price soared over $350 USD in just around three hours. The days following have continued with the general trend; while not as drastic of a jump, the price has continued to gain another $270 since the first quick rise since the fork, topping out at $3400 at the time of writing.
With the price of the popular digital currency reaching such heights, many are suggesting the use of a different base denomination. So instead of saying that 1 Bitcoin is worth $3400, exchanges might start to list “1 milliBitcoin = $3.40.” The change could actually help adoption, as such as staggering price could turn people off to making an investment.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH): The Fork Effect
The price volatility that was to be expected immediately after the fork was anti-climactic. The price rose some, fell some, but overall the market reacted like nothing had happened. During the next few days, the number of exchanges that had trading pairs of BTC/BCH shot up, giving the community much more opportunity to sell their coins on whatever side of the fork they like.
I will be dumping BCC as fast as I can. SegWit2x has overwhelming support and I stand by my commitment to it. #bitcoin #Aug1
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) July 30, 2017
The dump of BCH to buy Bitcoin was widely discussed by users on forums such as Reddit and Bitcoin Talk, with people asking their favorite wallet providers to put systems in place to ease the selling of the forked coin. It was simply a question of when, and how much it would affect the price if at all.
The Timing Couldn’t be Better
Last Thursday, Bittrex was reported to open up Bitcoin Cash deposits at 9 AM PDT, but before it could be traded the transaction needed at least twenty confirmations. This was due to the relatively low hashpower of the BCH chain, and the opportunity for a malicious actor to perform a 51% attack were there.
PSA: If the blockchain doesn't stall, we will be opening $BCC up for deposits with 20 confs at ~9am PDT. @BittrexExchange
— Richie Lai (@richiela) August 3, 2017
For people not aware of how confirmations work, a transaction’s first confirmation comes when it is included in a valid block that is added to the end of the chain. Additional confirmations come when blocks are built on top of the original one that contained the transaction.
The original onset of people looking to dump their Bitcoin through Bittrex would able to when BCC block 478619 was mined. That block just so happened to be mined at 06:29:39 on August 4th. Mere hours before the price really took off.
Where do you see Bitcoin’s price going next? Do you think we’ll see some sort of correction, or will the meme finally come true and we’ll be moon-bound? Let us know in the comments below!
Image courtesy of Coinbase, Shutterstock
