What is bitcoin cash?
Tuesday’s bitcoin fork created bitcoin cash - a new version of bitcoin on a new block chain with different rules.
A group of miners ‘forked’ from the main bitcoin block chain by switching to a new version of software with greater transaction capacity.
This fork did not affect bitcoin balances, but millions of bitcoin users were also given bitcoin cash tokens as well.
Related articles
Bitcoin LIVE news: Latest price as Bitcoin cash soars after fork
What is the bitcoin fork? What will happen when bitcoin forks TODAY?
What is the bitcoin cash price?
Bitcoin cash closed at $452.66 on Wednesday after reaching a high of $756.93 and a low of $309.33. The bitcoin price closed much higher at $2,729.51.
Dr Garrick Hi le man, a research fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, said this data makes bitcoin cash the third largest crypto currency on paper.
But he said: “I don’t believe that proper price discovery has occurred yet. The big question, and it is still an open question, is what is a fair price for bitcoin cash.”
Dr Hi leman said that a lot of users are not able to trade bitcoin cash yet, adding: “There is some concern still that should make people take the bitcoin cash price with a grain of salt.”
Bitcoin cash price Coin Market Cap
Bitcoin cash price: This is the bitcoin cash price as of 12.50pm on Wednesday August 2
Bitcoin cash price Coin Market Cap
Bitcoin cash price: The latest price as of 12.50pm on Wednesday August 2
He said that it is very difficult to predict what will happen next and the bitcoin cash price could fall if users decide to dump it.
He ras ed questions over how much mining bitcoin cash can support and whether it will be able to fend off attacks if they happen.
Despite the bugs and inconvenience so far, he said: “It’s going relatively smoothly, all things considered. It does not look like it is going away any time soon.”
If bitcoin cash is embraced by users, it could become a serious contender in the crypto currency space. But it might wither away if supporters switch back to the original block chain.
Bitcoin rises by 50% before falling after digital currency splits
Mute
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration Time 0:00
Coin Desk said: “With exchanges listing the coin and newly-found Bitcoin Cash owners taking control of their assets, one of the big questions will be what happens with the price of the digital asset.
“One prospect that does seem likely: a sea-change in the tenor of the years-long scaling debate, the disagreements over which arguably led to the events of today.
“When it comes to bigger blocks or a more nuanced approach – it seems it's now up to the market to decide.”