Recently, Bitcoin (BTC) and its hard forks, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV) have been receiving a lot of attention. At press time, the prices of BCH and BSV have skyrocketed, gaining 52% and 77% respectively in the last seven days and 28% and 30% in the last 24 hours, outperforming even Bitcoin whose price has only increased by 15%.
The recent SEC lawsuits against two popular cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, sent the markets into a sharp decline. However, the drop did not last long. The prices were up again after influential players in the industry such as BlackRock, Invesco, and WisdonTree threw their weight behind the industry. The other catalyst for the current crypto market boom is the emergence of China back into the cryptocurrency space.
The People’s Bank of China (PBC) had started their opposition to cryptocurrencies in 2013 when it forbade financial institutions from dealing in virtual currencies. Later in 2017, authorities tightened their regulations of cryptocurrencies, targeting Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). In 2021, they took the toughest action and completely outlawed cryptocurrency mining, causing a more than 50% decline in the crypto markets.
Recently, China has taken a more open stance on cryptocurrencies. Beijing published a whitepaper titled “Web3 Innovation and Development White Paper (2023)” that promoted Web3 technology as a crucial element of the internet’s future development. This could strongly impact the global crypto market if the Chinese government lifts its ban or eases its stand. However, for now, everything is still surrounded by speculation.
