In the past week, Bitcoin Cash, a cryptocurrency derived from Bitcoin, has experienced a significant surge of over 108% in value.
Investors have been optimistic about the prospects of Bitcoin Cash being classified as a commodity by regulatory authorities in the United States. However, a market expert has expressed skepticism about the sustainability of this trend, suggesting that the rally may be short-lived.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin Cash experienced a significant increase of 15% to reach a value of US$222.46 in the 24-hour period ending at 2 PM in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Similarly, Bitcoin SV, another Bitcoin hard fork, saw a notable rise of nearly 50% over the past week, currently standing at US$37.23 after a 5% gain in the last 24 hours.
While Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV are known for trading at lower volumes, Benjamin Stani, the director of business development and sales at Matrixport, a crypto trading platform, highlighted this characteristic.
Bitcoin Cash was introduced in 2017 through a hard fork of the original Bitcoin network. The purpose of this hard fork was to address the issue of scalability by increasing the block size, thereby enabling faster and more cost-effective transactions. In a hard fork, the blockchain protocol undergoes a permanent update that renders the new network incompatible with previous blocks.
Additionally, Bitcoin Cash is one of the four cryptocurrencies available on EDX Markets, a recently established crypto exchange that prioritizes regulatory compliance. This platform is supported by major Wall Street players, including Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments, and Charles Schwab.
Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed his belief in the long-term viability of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, stating that they possess “staying power” as an asset class.