All too often in the cryptocurrency world we see maximalists talking badly about other tokens and finding reasons to dislike it. We can see this play out in extreme fashion when looking at Bitcoin versus Bitcoin Cash.
What is Bitcoin Cash (BCH)?
Bitcoin Cash is a fork of Bitcoin that came into existence in August of 2017. At the time of writing this post, it is the #9 cryptocurrency by market cap and is trading around $1380 USD. It is a network that seeks to confirm transactions in just a few minutes time and be reliably easy to use and affordable.
Why do BTC and BCH supporters clash?
The main point of disagreement between supporters of the various cryptocurrencies lies in the size of the blocks that are produced through mining.
It all came down to scalability.
The SegWit upgrade that would eventually enable Bitcoin’s lighting network was what sparked the ideological debates that resulted in the Bitcoin Cash fork.
Let’s simplify this further. It all came down to what people believe is the real purpose of Bitcoin. Supporters of the SegWit upgrade were implicitly stating that they wanted to move away from the idea of using Bitcoin as a medium of exchange and move towards Bitcoin being a store of value. On the other side, proponents of what would eventually become Bitcoin Cash wanted to see block sizes be larger in order to keep transaction costs low and focus on being a medium of exchange.
Which Side Should You Take?
Well at the end of the day, you have to do your own research to determine what you believe the real purpose of Bitcoin is. That being said, the idea that only one of the tokens can be beneficial to the world is ill-founded in my opinion. By spending time deciding which side of the debate is the correct side, we are wasting precious time that could be spent telling the world just how valuable both of these innovations really are.
The Value of Bitcoin
We have to think about what Bitcoin will be used for in the future. The previously mentioned debate has clarified that Bitcoin is now meant as a store of value against inflation. As much as Bitcoin Cash holders may disagree with this use case, it is really working. The spending value of fiat currency is tanking with everything going on in our world. Bitcoin provides a shield from that inflation and is slowly becoming mainstream. It has the first mover advantage on the rest of the market and even if it is not the “cash of the future” it is bringing people to the ecosystem and establishing a name for the market. We may see a world where Bitcoin is seen as a dinosaur of the financial world; however, it is currently still just being explored by the global population and we are not their yet… It is still early.
The Value of Bitcoin Cash
Similarly, we need to think about the future use case of Bitcoin Cash. Even if Bitcoin is being used as the accepted store of value in the future, we will still need a way of transacting on a daily basis. We still need a currency of the future, and Bitcoin Cash is perfectly positioned to become that. The ideological shift that has separated Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin may serve as the perfect storm in creating a currency that is easily transactable for minimal fees and is free from governmental control. Being fast and efficient has positioned Bitcoin Cash to make a real mark on the world through it’s transactive power.
Conclusion
Maybe Satoshi’s vision was actually for there to be numerous forks of Bitcoin coexisting in peace and tackling numerous use cases. Rather than thinking about which fork is superior or better for the world, we should be thinking about how to fill the numerous financial holes in our world. There does not need to be one token to rule all, we need to look at this as a positive sum game. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash may have their disagreements, but are both positioned to play a pivotal role in the world economy of the future.
POSITIVE SUM GAME!!!
Bitcoin Cash is supposed to become a medium of exchange AND store of value.
Separating the two functions is something many Bitcoin Cashers would disagree with and view as the heart of the conflicting vision.
To be money: need to be MoE + SoV (+ UoA , eventually)
Cutting off MoE and thinking only SoV alone can be feasible ... doubtful.
SoV develops alongside MoE.
Blocking MoE will lead to failed SoV. BTC dropped from 55K to 48K at this time. There is widespread awareness that BTC is now fast becoming a purely speculative game (as are many other cryptos) which could end badly. viz Tesla dropping BTC as payment method almost immediately after picking it up.