The Battle for Bitcoin Cash After November 15 Hard Fork Continues

On November 15, there was a scheduled software upgrade on Bitcoin Cash network, which caused a hard fork. This fork is more controversial than the previous ones the cryptomarket has seen, and it might lead to multiple versions of the blockchain’s code. There are currently two main rival versions of the called Bitcoin (Cash) ABC and Bitcoin (Cash) SV, plus another one, standing in the middle, called Bitcoin Unlimited.

Bitcoin ABC stands for “Adjustable Blocksize Cap,” represents the idea that the basic structure of BCH is “sound,” and “does not need any radical change.” Its priority is to minimize transaction fees and to improve scalability. This version of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain is led by Roger Ver, the CEO of bitcoin.com. Bitmain, Binance, Coinbase, Bitcoin.com are all backing Bitcoin ABC.

Opposing the views of Bitcoin Cash ABC is the other fraction called Bitcoin Cash SV, short for Satoshi’s vision. The leader of Bitcoin SV is Craig Wright who had previously claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto himself. Calvin Ayre also favors Bitcoin SV. The idea behind Bitcoin SV is to change the current structure of Bitcoin Cash and restore the original protocol while increasing the block size of BCH from 32MB to a maximum of 128MB. This aims to expand the network’s capacity and scale. Among the supporters of Bitcoin SV are Bitcoin.org and CoinGeek.

Bitcoin Unlimited, the third variation caused by the fork is neutral, and its leaders propose a compromise solution between the other two opposing wings to minimize the risks (and they called it “Bitcoin Unlimited’s strategy for the November 2018 hard fork”). This upgrade introduces changes to the other two versions and provides the miners with the opportunity to choose and vote for the features which could ultimately be implemented in the new version of the network.

The fourth leading cryptocurrency by market cap (according to coinmarketcap website), Bitcoin Cash itself, emerged in August 2017 as a result of a split of Bitcoin’s original blockchain with the goal to reduce Bitcoin’s high transaction fees and to manage the scalability problem. It is still unclear which one of the newly activated competing implementations of the upgraded code of Bitcoin Cash will take over, as both camps are trying to gain dominance. And yet, it appears that Bitcoin ABC leads and has a slight advantage over Bitcoin SV in hash power and block mining.