On 20 Feb, 2018Welcome to the Bitcoin Cash Crypto Profile – where we delve into our research on all things Bitcoin Cash.
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How Is Bitcoin Cash Different From Bitcoin?
Bitcoin Cash, like Bitcoin, is striving to become a widely used currency that is completely digital. The limit on the amount of information the blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain network could store was becoming a problem.
A part of the community split away from the main network because they had a different solution in mind. This was done by what is called a “hard fork” of the blockchain network. If you would like to learn more about what a hard fork click here.
The Bitcoin Cash blocks can hold more information than the Bitcoin blocks are able to. This means that the BCH network can process more transactions per block round. This is advantageous when there are a lot of transaction occurring on the network at the same time. Believers in Bitcoin Cash claim this will allow the network to process transactions more quickly at a lower fee.
Who’s In Charge Of Developing The Protocol?
The software is updated by a variety of different groups. Projects like Ethereum and Litecoin utilize central development teams but the Bitcoin Cash project does not. This means that the people working on the project are not well known.
The following are the main groups that work on the project:
- Bitcoin ABC
- Bitcoin Unlimited
- Bitcoin XT
Who Else Is Influencing The Project?
Roger Ver is the projects biggest backer. He first started investing in Bitcoin in 2010. He was a founding member of the Bitcoin Foundation which funded the development of the Bitcoin project until it’s near bankruptcy in 2015. Ver went on to invest in several other successful crypto startups including Ripple, BitPay, Kraken and ShapeShift. Roger is currently the CEO of Bitcoin.com. Ver recently traded all of his Bitcoin for Bitcoin Cash.
Haipo Yang is another highly successful board member of the Bitcoin Cash Fund. Yang is the founding member of ViaBTC which is the fourth largest Bitcoin mining pool in the world. ViaBTC was the largest mining pool that advocated for larger block sizes and against the Segregated Witness software update. ViaBTC is currently the largest Bitcoin Cash mining pool.
Who Are The Competitors?
The following are the coin’s main competitors:
Let’s Look At Competitive Advantages and Risks
The following are competitive advantages:
- Wide group of developers means no bias and large amount of people working on potential solutions.
- Can (potentially) solve all problems on the blockchain. Does not require off blockchain solutions.
The following are risks that should be considered:
- Comparatively weak brand in the marketplace. It will be difficult to overcome Bitcoin without vastly superior technology.
- Lack of clear development lead might make investors think twice before putting fiat currency into Bitcoin Cash.
What’s The Verdict?
The verdict is still out on Bitcoin Cash. The part of the community that hard forked the network believe they are being true to the original whitepaper written by Satoshi Nakamoto. The Bitcoin Cash supporters argue that an increase in the block size was always intended and that it is the only sustainable solution to the network’s problems.
Those against the increase in the block limits state that larger block sizes would further centralize the approval power in the network. Only large mining operations would be able to operate full nodes when block sizes are larger.
Time will tell if increasing the block size limit is the best answer. When the Bitcoin Cash network starts to process larger amounts of transactions the truth will be known.
Even if the larger block sizes turn out to create a network that is able to process a larger number of transaction at a lower cost that still might not ensure Bitcoin Cash’s success. Consumers and businesses could still decide to adopt Bitcoin at a higher rate. Or another cryptocurrency, like Litecoin, could develop a protocol that is able to process more transactions at a lower cost.
BCH certainly has a tough battle ahead. It’s difficult to see both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash surviving. Though it might not be a great idea to go all in on Bitcoin Cash it might be a good idea to keep some in your portfolio, especially if you hold large amounts of Bitcoin.
If you’re thinking about investing in cryptocurrency check out our other articles so you can get an understanding of which investment choices might be right for you!
