Bitcoin offshoot set to rival cryptocurrency as value slumps

Bitcoin offshoot ‘Bitcoin Cash’ is making an impact in the world of cryptocurrency thanks to its ability to be processed cheaply

The Bitcoin Offshoot has proven itself to be a potential rival to the reigning cryptocurrency and has even put a dent in Ethereum.

On Sunday 12th November the market value reached $41 billion after the cancellation of a blockchain upgrade caused some investors to switch.

The figure dropped to $22 billion later that day after the currency hit a value of $2577.11.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin congratulated the creators of Bitcoin Cash and said that the strength of cryptocurrency lies in multiple approaches:

“A key reason why I am now so confident in crypto is precisely the fact that there are so many different teams trying different approaches.”

The price of Bitcoin fell to $5507 as its rival found success, the lowest value it has hit in a month after reaching a height of $7879 just a week ago.

Bitcoin fears

An expected update to the Blockchain, the technology that keeps a record of transactions, would have resulted in a ‘hard fork’ meaning investors would have received a new digital coin for every Bitcoin they owned.

The update was cancelled due to a lack of support, causing a temporary slump in the popularity of Bitcoin.

The larger block size of Bitcoin Cash makes it easier and cheaper to process, a feature that is becoming more attractive as interest from world banks and other institutions grows.

The innate volatility of cryptocurrency has caused some people to label Bitcoin a ‘bubble’ as the value has grown rapidly over the last year.

Investors are now describing a ‘panic’ amid coin owners, but Mike Kayamori of Tokyo-based firm Quoine has urged people to hold on to both coins and ‘see how it plays out’.

The slump saw wider effects as Bitcoin-related firms suffered and the Asian stock market took a hit.

Bitcoin Cash has been around for a few months but previously struggled to hit the popularity of its parent cryptocurrency.

This slump could be a sign that the reigning cryptocurrency has a rival or simply another example of the volatility of the currency.