People often talk of a “flippening,” but today a big one happened. Bitcoin SV (BSV) overtook BCH in both unit price and market cap, while reaching an all-time-high price at the same time.
BSV reached its all-time unit price high (since the November 2018 hard fork) of US$422.74 on CoinMarketCap at one minute to midnight UTC on Tuesday January 14, capping a dramatic 100% increase that began less than a day earlier.
On the way, it eclipsed other “top ten” digital assets Binance Coin (BNB), EOS, Tether (USDT) Litecoin (LTC) and then BCH in total market cap. It also represents the first time BSV had outpaced BCH since splitting from that chain a year and two months previous. Overtaking a “rival” in crypto-speak is often referred to as a “flippening,” where value “flips” from one asset to another. If permanent, a flippening represents an important turning point.
We should note that all CoinMarketCap’s top ten assets (save for Tether) experienced similar price trajectories in that period, though none were as remarkable as BSV. BCH had the second-highest 24-hour gain at 23%, with BTC gaining 4.81%. At press time the momentum had ceased and several fell back slightly—however BSV remains around US$394 and BCH is US$344. BSV’s overall market cap topped US$7.3 billion, and currently remains above $7 billion.
Above BSV sit BTC at #1, Ethereum (ETH) at #2, and Ripple (XRP) at #3. XRP’s US$10.34 billion market cap comes as always with an asterisk—all its currency units are “pre-mined” and already exist, as opposed to most blockchains in which new coins are “mined” into existence over long periods of time. This means each of the total 43.65 billion XRPs carries the same unit value, although a significant percentage of the total is kept out of circulation, intended to fund future development and promotions.
But why, and why now?
The sudden bull run prompted several discussions online regarding why it happened at that time, and which asset (if any) was leading the charge. Reasons were varied and often partisan, as is usual in blockchain. However, the most significant external event prior to the run was Dr. Craig Wright revealing in a court submission that he had received information from a third party that could aid in discovering how many bitcoins he had mined in bitcoin’s first few years.
Some interpreted this signal to mean Dr. Wright had indeed received data from the famed “bonded courier” pertaining to the equally-famous “Tulip Trust“, a timelocked contract involving multiple layers of cryptography reportedly formed in 2011.
This would also go some way to proving Dr. Wright was Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, or at the very least indicate he has access to a large number of early-mined bitcoins. Any influence over such a significant stash — or even the suggestion it’s possible—could move markets. Dr. Wright has also previously stated that he is “going to have 821,050 BTC used in 2020.”
Price runs are fun, but remember the fundamentals
While price is a great attention grabber, it’s important to remember that “flippenings” and ATHs are largely symbolic. Trends can reverse, bubbles burst, and any price movements that go vertical should be observed with caution. Fear of missing out (“FOMO”) can lead to newcomers buying in at the top, creating a longer-term ill-feeling and hesitance to become more deeply involved.
That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on the fundamentals: BSV’s technical advantages and the number of serious projects being developed on its blockchain. The Genesis upgrade, in which BSV locks its protocol and unleashes its full scaling potential, is still in beta testing and will go live on February 4, 2020.
Only then will BSV truly represent “Satoshi’s Vision” for Bitcoin, and its community will ramp up efforts to target large enterprise users. It’s this real utility and security, rather than sudden price exuberance, that will represent Bitcoin’s true value.
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