Origins of Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 as a spin-off coin from the original bitcoin token. The lead-up to the creation of Bitcoin Cash was a dispute within the Bitcoin community about what the focus of the flagship token should be. As we know, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be used as both a medium of exchange and as an investment tool. Before the hard fork that created Bitcoin Cash, there was a push within the Bitcoin community to increase the block size.
Many, including Roger Ver who is considered one of the founders of Bitcoin Cash, believed that BIP 91 adoption without an increase in transaction capacity would not benefit Bitcoin as a means of payment. While some were looking to bitcoin as the next great investment tool since gold, a number of people within the community began pushing against SegWit’s plans to increase the ecosystem’s capacity. This came to a head after SegWit enabled second layer processing on the Bitcoin system. A hard fork then took place that led to the creation of Bitcoin Cash. A hard fork, essentially, occurs when a developer to team modifies the original code of a cryptocurrency to create a somewhat similar token. This would be the first of a number of hard forks both within bitcoin and in the industry at large.
Origins of Bitcoin SV
Bitcoin SV was created in August 2018, over a year after Bitcoin Cash was created. Interestingly enough, Bitcoin SV was created on the same principles of Bitcoin Cash, which is that the former was not working in line with Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision (hence the name). After Bitcoin Cash was created, there was criticism from platforms like nChain and CoinGeek that the new token had not achieved its aim in preserving Satoshi’s vision and that led to a number of Bitcoin Cash users breaking away and once again starting their own token, Bitcoin SV.
Unlike the first hard fork, the creation of Bitcoin SV was a little more combative. The conflict stemmed from the division of the hash power that once belonged to Bitcoin Cash. Proponents of Bitcoin SV such as Calvin Ayre of CoinGeek suggested that the community attempt to deplete the hash power of Bitcoin Cash. In retaliation, Jason Wu of Bitmain alleged that he would intentionally try to sink the price of Bitcoin SV. The conflict only came to an end when both tokens implemented replay production and finalized their split.
Inner Workings
While Bitcoin Cash was created in a protest of sorts to the original bitcoin, a lot of their inner workings are the same. It should be noted, however, that there is more emphasis on the token as a medium of exchange than as an investment. Bitcoin Cash is mined the same way bitcoin is and can be sent as using its peer-to-peer network without a third party being involved. While Bitcoin Cash is more focused on being a currency, it is not as widely adopted as bitcoin yet and as such, fewer places accept it as a means of payment. As a result of the hard fork, Bitcoin Cash allows for more transactions to be processed and stored per block and this is the major difference between Bitcoin Cash and bitcoin.
Bitcoin SV works in a similar vein as the tokens need to be mined in order to be acquired. Bitcoin SV can also be bought from exchanges, though a scandal involving Craig Wright, one of its proponents, has led to Bitcoin SV being delisted from a number of exchanges. Bitcoin cash is also transferred through a peer-to-peer network and can be used as a medium of payment, though it is not as widely adopted as bitcoin or even Bitcoin Cash.
Price and Trading History
When Bitcoin Cash first debuted, it had a price of $240 per token, while bitcoin had a price of $2,700. In the almost three years of its existence, its highest ever price of $4,355.62 and the lowest ever price drop of $75.03 on December 15, 2018.
Bitcoin SV debuted with a price of $55.33. Its peak price thus far has been $441.20 on January 14, 2020, and an all-time price drop of $36.87 on November 23, 2018. Bitcoin SV, like other cryptos, has had some level of volatility and has seen some price fluctuations, especially following its first halving.
