Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Cryptocurrency–According to a report out of Bloomberg, investors were stockpiling BTC just ahead of the most recent market crash in November, a movement that could have been catalyzed by the actions of Bitcoin Cash and its contentious hard fork from Bitcoin SV.
Citing data released by research firm Chainalysis, Bloomberg found that fans of Bitcoin were stockpiling the currency at a rate that greatly exceeded previous months, giving some indication that investors may have thought the prolonged price stability through October was Bitcoin forming a bottom,
Bitcoin was showing signs of renewed popularity just before it suffered its worst monthly price drop of the year in November, according to data released Wednesday by researcher Chainalysis. It found Bitcoin’s 30-day moving average of flows to personal wallets was on the rise, surpassing $400 million by Nov. 1 from less than $300 million in June.
According to Kim Grauer, an economist with Chainalysis, the data suggests that investors were attempting to accumulate more coins at a lower price following the steady decline in value for Bitcoin throughout 2018. While the currency was down from its last all time high of near $20,000, investors were likely encouraged by the price stability established through September and October.
However, November ended with Bitcoin experiencing its worst month of losses since August 2011, tumbling 38 percent and throwing a wrench in the plan of investors hoping to stockpiling the coin at a good price. Interestingly, a relative of the original Bitcoin may have been in part to blame for the sudden price change.
Bitcoin Cash, which forked from BTC in August 2017, was set to undergo its own hard fork in the middle of November. In anticipation of the free coins that would be produced in the split, investors began hoarding BCH, driving the price up double digits in the span of several days. However, rather than waiting until the split to occur, the market responded with uncertainty and confusion, leading to a sudden sell-off in BCH which plummeted the coin’s price. The severe correction for BCH extended to the majority of the market, leading Bitcoin and altcoins to suffer in the fallout.
The week that followed BCH’s hard fork, splitting the coin into Bitcoin ABC and SV, led to even more contention in the marketplace with the “hash war” that was spawned. The market responded predictably, falling to even lower prices and leading BTC to its worst month of losses in seven years.
Veteran investors may remember a similar occurrence during the crypto bull run to end December 2017. While BCH forked from Bitcoin in August 2017, the coin managed a massive rally just as BTC prices were nearing their most recent all time high of $20,000. Some predicted that the rising BCH price was an attempted “flippening” of BTC, with the market preferring the faster transaction times and lower fees of Bitcoin Cash. However, most of the rally that contributed to Bitcoin Cash’s price bump was in response to its eventual listing on Coinbase–a debacle that led the exchange to multiple accusations of insider trading.
While Bitcoin Cash is not the sole arbiter of the most recent crypto crash, it’s undeniable that the coin has twice now contributed to market confusion and uncertainty which has led panic and selloff.
