Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Surges 33.9% in 24 Hours on EDX Listing, S. Korean Trading Spike

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) continues its uptrend that started after its listing on Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Charles Schwab Corp.,-backed EDX Markets on June 20.

The BCH token is the highest weekly gainer in the top 300 tokens by market capitalization on CoinGecko, with 114.3% gains. 

In comparison, Bitcoin (BTC) recorded 2.4% gains in the same period, while Ethereum (ETH) traded at par with last week’s price.

The latest 33.9% gain in BCH’s price in the last 24 hours appears to be driven by excess negative bets in the derivatives market fueling an uptrend and heightened trading interest on a South Korean exchange.

A vertical rise 

The EDX Markets exchange listing is considered by some to be a good proxy for the state of BCH's regulatory clearance. Jamil Nazarali, CEO of EDX Markets, deemed that the four crypto tokens listed on EDX Markets (Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin) were safe bets in terms of compliance with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

BCH’s price was heavily suppressed for the calendar year, ranging between $100 and $150. Nevertheless, it has risen vertically after its listing on EDX Markets. BCH was last trading at $308.72, levels last seen 14 months ago in May 2022.

Crypto research outlet The Tie found that BCH trading volumes on Binance reached levels not seen in two years as trading interest returned toward BCH after EDX Markets listing.

While the increase in trading volume after a positive catalyst is a sign of strong market participation and interest in the asset, the uptrend is partly driven by a short squeeze and a surprising volume spike on the South Korean exchange, Upbit.

A short squeeze is a phenomenon that occurs when an asset's price rises, as most traders who had bet against its price are forced to buy at a loss or experience forced liquidation.

The price volatility took out $19 million in liquidations in the last 24 hours, with short orders accounting for 77% of the total amount, representing the highest liquidation levels in June 2023, per Coinglass data.

BCH liquidations over the past 30 days. Source: Coinglass

The token also witnessed a surge in trading on the South Korean exchange Upbit. CoinGecko data shows that the 24-hour trading volume of the BCH/KRW pair on Upbit at $685 million is twice that of BCH trading volumes on Binance.

In fact, the BCH/KRW trading volume of Upbit was comparable to the BTC/USD pair trading volume of $508 million on Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based exchange.