Bitcoin Cash Crashes as Hard Fork Goes Live

The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) blockchain today split into two (it “hard forked”). Traders, grappling with the uncertainty of the future of the network, pulled the price of Bitcoin Cash price down from $255 to $240, a 5% decrease in the past 24 hours.

The hard fork follows a major disagreement between two BCH clients, Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHA) and Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN), after BCHA put forward the Infrastructure Funding Plan (IFP), a scheme that would levy a 8% “tax” on miner profits and re-channel the funds towards the network’s development.

The proposal remains largely unpopular among users of BCH, who fear diminishing profits and fret that it would dash the community’s decentralized spirit.

Most major companies expect no disruptions and signal they are ready to accommodate the changes, but many, such as Coinbase announced a temporary pause in deposits and withdrawals of BCH. 

Meanwhile, in the hours leading up to the hard fork, Bitcoin and Ethereum hit record highs in “realized” prices.