The Cryptocurrency Informer

(00:29) First up – the seemingly inevitable Bitcoin Cash hard fork is happening this weekend. If you’ve been following this podcast, or keeping current with all things BCH, you’ll know that there’s been an ideological split between two implementations of Bitcoin Cash. That ideological split is right on the edge of becoming an actual coin split.

For those unfamiliar, Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency that exists as a result of an August 2017 fork from the original Bitcoin. Subsequently, in 2018, BCH was forked into two different versions of the coin; for all intents and purposes, those two resulting coins were known as Bitcoin ABC (Adjustable Blocksize Cap) and Bitcoin SV (Satoshi’s Vision). It can be a bit confusing but, as Coinmarketcap says, “Bitcoin ABC became the dominant chain and took over the BCH ticker”. So, as of now, when we discuss the BCH ticker, we are referring to the dominant coin – Bitcoin ABC. Bitcoin SV is referred to as BSV. However, the Bitcoin ABC dominance could be in danger.

Back in August, Amaury Séchet, a leading developer of BCH, released a blog post detailing the plan for a November 2020 Bitcoin Cash Network Upgrade. The plan did not sit well with everyone involved in BCH and only one day later, a statement was released by a number of notable miners that they do not accept Sechet’s vision for altering the BCH implementation. According to Bitrates.com, “The two factions are divided over a single controversial feature. Bitcoin ABC intends to introduce an Infrastructure Funding Plan (IFP), which will collect 8% of miner rewards and reallocate those funds toward development. BCHN, on the other hand, opposes that plan due to the effect it will have on mining profits.”

As a result, a fork of the current BCH blockchain will occur on Sunday, November 15th, resulting in two blockchains – Bitcoin ABC (or BCHABC) and Bitcoin Cash Node. There are a few different possible results of this fork – the commonly held belief, as reported by Bitcoin Magazine, “Currently, Bitcoin Cash Node has much more hash power support than Bitcoin ABC: more than 80 percent … versus less than 1 percent for Bitcoin ABC. Bitcoin Cash Node also appears to have significantly more community support, and large Bitcoin Cash-supporting companies like Coinbase, Kraken and BitGo have also indicated support for Bitcoin Cash Node. It therefore seems likely that (the name) Bitcoin Cash will live on through Bitcoin Cash Node…(It would then probably also receive the “BCH” ticker on most exchanges…)”

What does this mean for current BCH holders then? Time will tell what will actually happen – but a 1:1 ratio airdrop is very likely to occur for current BCH holders.

One thing is definite – Bitcoin Cash is certainly a coin fraught with conflict, and one that is likely to confuse a lot of crypto newcomers.

(03:17) Former Vice President Joe Biden will become the 46th President of the United States. This fact has proven to be quite divisive in the United States. That being said, the President-Elect is already preparing for his transition, and has recently appointed a crypto-savvy and crypto-friendly lead to his financial policy transition team. Gary Gensler, a former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was formerly named this week – his role will be “…to oversee a team of volunteers focused on banking and markets regulators, such as the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission, as part of an agency review process that occurs with every transition.” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Gensler is Senior Advisor to the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative. He conducts research and teaches on blockchain technology, digital currencies, financial technology, and public policy, according to his MIT biography. Gensler criticized ICOs back in 2018 and warned Congress against the potential  dangers of Facebook’s Libra – but is generally viewed as generally pro-crypto, and most certainly viewed as crypto knowledgeable. Interestingly, Bloomberg reports that Gensler could also be up for the role of running the SEC under Biden – that’s not confirmed, but it is certainly something to keep an eye in with this incoming administration.

(04:29) Finally – this coming Wednesday, November 18th, will be the world’s first Decentralized Philanthropy Conference – aptly named the De-Phi Crytpo For Good Conference. The conference will “highlight the people, projects, and organizations who are genuinely and actively leveraging bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology to help others and improve our world” according to BitGive, who are organizing the conference.

If you aren’t familiar with BitGive, check out the interviews (1,2) we’ve done with their CEO Connie Gallippi over on The BitcoinTaxes Podcast. They were the first Bitcoin non-profit and their company is all in on utilizing cryptocurrency for the betterment of society.

The conference itself will take place virtually, and is completely free to register and be a part of. We’ve got a link to the registration page on talk.bitcoin.tax, or you can go to bitgivefoundation.org to find out more details. The event will cover Decentralized and Digital Philanthropy, Cryptocurrency Across Borders, Leveraging Crypto for Good, and the current and potential social impact of blockchain technology. You can find a list of keynote speakers and other event details by heading over to the conference website.

If you either love crypto, want to encourage crypto adoption, or have a passion to help others (or all of the above) don’t sleep on this conference.

That’s it for this week’s episode of The Cryptocurrency Informer. Don’t forget – if you want to read more about each of these stories, go to talk.bitcoin.tax and click on The Cryptocurrency Informer link. Every episode is accompanied by a number of relevant links for each story, so you can do your own in-depth research on the topics that interest you.

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Have a great weekend everyone – stay safe and stay informed!