Bitcoin Cash (BCH) peaked at over $3,500 for a brief spell after getting listed on Coinbase, but then the digital coin gradually lost its positions, sinking way below the $1,000 mark. BCH has now stalled at around 0.1 BTC, its value fluctuating up and down but remaining stagnant. The price range of $750 to $800 is still higher compared to the post-launch days.
!Bitcoin Cash!
Here are three reasons why BCH has stalled:
1) Mining is a losing business
Since the launch of an emergency difficulty algorithm for the BCH network, there have been no new periods of excessively high difficulty followed by easy mining and one-minute blocks. However, the chart shows that the profitability of BCH mining has been lower than that of Bitcoin for longer stretches of time. Even during periods when mining BCH was more profitable, the margin was very slim. For months, BCH has been mined by pools related to Bitmain, which may be a form of altruistic mining carried out despite the lower profitability. The influence of Bitmain has further eroded the credibility of BCH, which has always had its critics.
2) The trading profile has changed
Until recently, the most active trades happened between BTC and BCH in a direct exchange signifying the trust in one network or the other. But this trading profile has changed, and there are fewer direct trades between the two coins slugging it out for price dominance. Certainly, BCH trades against BTC in part, but the two are not competing for the top price level. The chief reason is the switch to Tether (USDT), an intermediary token which is giving BCH a whole different process of price discovery. Trading against USDT means market participants can wait out price in fiat-like positions that do not fluctuate. Hence, few people are FOMO-buying BCH, waiting instead for the bear market to depress prices further. Tether trading accounts for more than 75% of total BCH volumes.
3) BCH is an altcoin
Simply put, BCH is now yet another altcoin competing for attention, and its reputation has sank in recent days. While the coin is witnessing adoption as a means of payment, there are no newcomers eager to grab the asset for fast gains. Pumps are a thing of the past, and even the Korean markets have shed their irrational exuberance. The new, lower prices are not creating new pumps, engendering instead a wait-and-see attitude. Trading is cautious, with volumes rather low. Additionally, BCH is now fighting for transactions, and its big block solution is starting to look redundant. Transactions fluctuate, and there are some active days, but the numbers move between 50,000 and 14,000 transactions in 24 hours, competing with the levels of Litecoin (LTC). Besides, Bitcoin fees have fallen, making the network once again accessible, and Bitcoin carries three to five times as many transactions as BCH. Litecoin transactions remain permanently higher compared to Bitcoin Cash, with a few exceptions in recent weeks.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
