Alright so Bitcoin Cash (BCC) miners demonstrated they could mine an 8 MB block. Congratulations. Now lets move on please.
Seriously.
Yes it is a good technological step for the cryptocurrency. But this is the reason why it hard forked in the first place. The 2 differentiating factors from BCC compared to Bitcoin (BTC) now are:
- Segwit not implemented
- 8 MB blocksizes vs 1 MB
Apart from the drawbacks this has in terms of data still being stored on the blockchain, I see two main problems with BCC:
- The mining power is centralized and is therefore very susceptible to a 51% attack. Would you trust your investments in a currency that can be attacked at any time? The blockchain is supposed to be decentralized and trustless! However with mining in BCC becoming more profitable, this issue may be solved in the near future.
- The other and more fundamental problem I see with BCC is that it is too similar to BTC. There are numerous cryptos already out there that offer a superior technology than both BTC and BCC. If investing in other than BTC, why not invest in any of those instead of a clone with some tweaks and which is still suffering from old technology and legacy issues that cannot be easily resolved without starting from scratch. Many altcoins indeed have taken on board the lessons learnt in the BTC project and are in a position to offer a better product. Some offer smart contracts, some offer privacy, others offer faster transaction or settlement speed and so forth. Or they even offer a combination of these and other attributes.
The one thing that is keeping BTC the unrivaled #1 in the crypto world is the first mover advantage and the associated fame it has accumulated over the years. Most potential investors have heard of Bitcoin. Other currencies? Not that well known. Yet.
Sure BCC has been in the news a lot during the fork and will gain attention during its rise up these days. But is that enough to beat BTC in the longer term? While I argue this BCC has peaked above $700. And BTC has dipped further.
Long-term though I have my doubts about BCC overtaking BTC.
The question I am asking then is this: Do we need another bitcoin clone with some tweaks? Or should we invest in coins that offer something better?
There are lots of alternatives out there. With far better technology than BCC is offering...
References:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/18/bitcoin-cash-surges-as-investors-bet-on-its-faster-processing-speeds.html
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-cash-closes-profitability-parity-original-blockchain/
Images:
https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/bcc-vs-btc/
https://bittrex.com/Market/Index?MarketName=BTC-BCC