Understanding the Battle Between BTC and BCH Communities

During the last couple of weeks, the heated debate between the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash communities, sprung to life once again. This is mostly due to the increasing interest for BCH, which has increased by over 25% in value during the last couple of days.

The initial increase in price is mostly due to the fact that one of the world’s biggest mining pools, Antpool, stated that they will begin burning part of the coins that it receives for mining Bitcoin Cash. The effect associated with the burn, would be reducing in the available supply of Bitcoin Cash, alongside with giving out an incentive for value increase. The decision can be considered the latest manoeuvre in the heated battle between the two communities, as large coin holders are actively attempting to influence price, given the major losses earlier this year.

It has, however, been mentioned that Antpool is only burning $12 worth of BCH on a daily basis, in what many believe is simply a PR move. Initially, the mining pool announced they would burn a total of 12% of coins received – so far, the communities are unsure whether this is truly happening.

For those who do not know, Bitcoin Cash does indeed pose several advantages, yet there are also disadvantages to the technology. With this in mind, it offers lower transaction fees and quicker transaction times – however, things will change if the Lightning Network is adopted at a mass scale.

In a recent statement, Lucas Nuzzi of Digital Asset Research, mentioned that: "Now, projects like Bitcoin Cash are struggling to remain relevant, which is hard when very few users are using the network (…) Miners have to liquidate their holdings regularly to pay for their expenses. The move from Antpool is intended to slow down further price depreciation, by attempting to increase the perception of scarcity. Whether the move will be successful remains to be seen."

Regardless, the aggravating battle between the two communities has mostly been wagered over social media and forums, such as Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. Bitcoin remains the cryptocurrency with the highest price, so if it wants to be truly relevant, Bitcoin Cash would surely have to catch up. Bitcoin’s recent development has been slowed down by numerous debates and disagreements carried out between both its developers and miners.

Things will reportedly continue to change for Bitcoin Cash, given the fact that a fork which would update its protocol is expected in the future. The main changes include increasing the block size to 32MB, time stamping functionalities, enabling the already-existing opcodes, and more.

While Bitcoin Cash may have a future of its own, it is important for the communities to cease attempts at market manipulation, and attacking one another. Censorship, banning accounts or communities and disabling free speech for price gains aren’t the principles upon which the cryptocurrency market should be built.