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Commercial use of Bitcoin Cash is dwindling

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Peter Terlato
Posted: 21 August 2018 4:21 pm
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The hard forked cryptocurrency has seen a sharp plunge in payments use over a relatively short period.

The use of Bitcoin Cash as a medium of exchange for commercial payments has plummeted in recent months.

Blockchain research firm Chainalysis revealed that a recent review of payments received by 17 of the largest cryptocurrency merchant processing services worldwide – including BitPay, Coinify and GoCoin – found Bitcoin Cash payments diminshed by almost two thirds (-65%) between March and May 2018, according to Bloomberg.

Bitcoin Cash, a hard fork of the world’s leading cryptocurrency bitcoin, recorded US$10.5 million worth of commerce payments in March this year. In three months, this figure was reduced to just US$3.7 million in May.

Comparatively, bitcoin payments fell from US$412 million in September 2017 to US$60 million in March 2018. While this is an overwhelmingly large (-85%) decline, use of the cryptocurrency remains ahead of Bitcoin Cash.

Bitcoin Cash broke off from the original bitcoin network in August last year, as part of an effort to improve the efficiency of transactions. The digital currency advocated for faster transaction speeds and lower fees.

Chainalysis’ study reports that more than half (56%) of all Bitcoin Cash is controlled by just 67 digital wallets that aren’t actually located on exchanges, making commercial use extremely difficult. Two individual wallets hold between 10,000 and 100,000 BCH of a total 17.3 million BCH in existence.

2018 has been a tough year for all cryptocurrencies but both bitcoin (US$111 billion) and Bitcoin Cash (US$9 billion) continue to rank in the top five for total market capitalisation, according to cryptocurrency data analysis website CoinMarketCap.

Roger Ver, an early investor in bitcoin-related startups, remains an undeterred supporter of Bitcoin Cash.

As part of a draft paper released in January, analyzing blockchain technology, a US government innovation and industrial competition agency claims that Bitcoin Cash is actually the original bitcoin blockchain.

In May, controversial company Riot Blockchain revealed that it converts any mined Bitcoin Cash into bitcoin.

Discover why cryptocurrency miner Bitmain’s massive stash of Bitcoin Cash is causing the firm headaches.

Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade. Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.

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