Crypto Exchanges Wave Goodbye To Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision
Dun, dun, dun, another one bites the dust. Earlier today, Ethereum World News reported that after a week of online banter between Craig Wright & other Bitcoin SV (BSV) proponents and the rest of the cryptocurrency community, from Ethereum lovers to XRP shills, Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao made a surprising announcement.
In a tweet that has gone crypto-viral, the chief executive of the popular Malta-based exchange revealed that his firm would be delisting BSV, a fork of the Bitcoin protocol that promotes larger block sizes and is vehemently against the Lightning Network. By April 22nd, BSV trading pairs and balances will not be supported on the renowned exchange. A blog post on the matter cited an array of factors, including “Commitment of team to project, Level of public communication, Evidence of unethical/fraudulent conduct, and Contribution to a healthy and sustainable crypto ecosystem,” as a way to back its removal of BSV.
While this was large news in and of itself, resulting in a near-immediate 10% crash in the value of Bitcoin SV and an inverse move in Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Binance was quickly joined by fellow platforms in delisting BSV. What was a single act quickly turned into a spree.
ShapeShift, first and foremost, revealed that it will be delisting BSV within the next 48 hours. This, we admit, is rather admirable, as ShapeShift chief executive Erik Voorhees openly admitted that his business has been suffering in the crypto winter, making the delisting of BSV a further blow.
The U.S.-based Kraken has yet to confirm that it will be removing the digital asset, but a preliminary poll hosted by the exchange shows that 75% of its followers want to see BSV delisted.
But as Anthony Pompliano asks, which exchange will be next?
Blockchain.com, Too, Looks To Remove BSV
The next to join in the anti-BSV debacle seems to be Blockchain.com, the popular wallet platform, not an exchange. In a tweet posted shortly after Voorhees’ statement and Kraken’s poll, Peter Smith, the chief executive of the San Francisco-headquartered startup, revealed that his firm would be delisting BSV by the middle of May. This, just like the Binance delisting, will be a large blow for the project, as Blockchain has historically been one of the most, if not the most popular crypto asset wallet.
Jokes Ensue
While the removal of an asset from an exchange is a serious matter, this whole debacle has been filled to the brim with jokes and s*itposts, from industry jokesters to crypto executives alike. In a tweet posted just hours ago, Gemini chief Tyler Winklevoss, a cryptocurrency optimist, poked fun at CoinDesk, writing “JUST IN: Gemini never listed BSV in the first place.
Hardware wallet provider BitFi made a similar joke, quipping that it removed BSV, but then adding that it never supported the cryptocurrency in the first place.
While many have taken this imbroglio in jest, Wright’s peer, Calvin Ayre, hasn’t been all too happy. The Canadian businessman recently took to Twitter to bash Binance and other entities pitting themselves against BSV’s camp. But how will the dichotomy between BSV skeptics and BSV advocates play out? At this point, no one is all too sure.
Title Image Courtesy of Mikael Kristenson
