Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork Countdown Begins: A Dud or to Skyrocket BCH Price

BCH hard fork is officially here with some major upgrades in its tow. After weeks of pump up in its prices, we are gonna know if BCH goes skyward or takes a downward plunge.

A hard fork, but not really!

This is going to be a big day for the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) fans out there as the much-anticipated hard fork of the BCH is finally here. For months, we have been talking about how this hard fork is going to take the BCH price to reach even the $2000 level. It’s time that we take a deep dive and get to know what we are in for May 15.

The hard fork of Bitcoin (BTC) resulted in the existence of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on August 1, 2017. The reason behind the hard fork of BCH was to increase the block size of the Bitcoin network and improve its scalability which was a maximum block size of 8MB instead of a fixed number i.e.1MB.

The change in block sizer means transaction fees would be lower. Bitcoin ABC was the first implementation of the Bitcoin Cash hard fork.

Tomorrow’s BCH hard fork is different in the fashion that it might be a hard fork but you won’t be receiving any new coins. The BCH network is going to upgrade the consensus rules.

This upgrade will result in two separate chains but only the new one will hold any economic value and the old one will simply become obsolete meaning no exchanges will accept it.

Also, read: Bitcoin.com Fixes its Webpage as the Lawsuit Gains Steam

Get to the point: What does BCH hard fork has to offer

The new version i.e. Bitcoin ABC 0.17.1 have codes to make the transition to the new rules smooth and run the consensus rules whose software has already been made available. This would need to upgrade your Bitcoin Cash node.

The hard fork will be activated on the MTP time of 1526400000 that is when the median timestamp of the recent 11 blocks is equal to or greater than this number, the new rules will apply.

The changes made to the protocol consists of: First, the maximum block size would be increased from 8MB to 32MB. This means more transactions per second and lower fees. Second, opcodes are being added or reactivated so that the creation of simpler smart contracts can be a possibility. Thirdly, the data carrier size of OP_RETURN will be increased from 80 bytes to 220 bytes.

In the wake of this hard fork, the biggest crypto exchange of Netherland BL3P has announced that it would remove the cryptocurrency from its platform, stating:

“Since there already was a planning for the removal of Bitcash the hard fork has become a reason and strict deadline for the removal of Bitcash from BL3P.”

What remains to be seen is how this hard fork will affect the price of Bitcoin Cash which is the fourth largest cryptocurrency in the world.

By the end of last month, as the hard fork neared BCH went above $1,500 mark and further rose in tandem with other cryptocurrencies in early May when it reached $1,800 price level. Currently, Bitcoin Cash is at $1,473 with a market cap of over $12 billion.

Do you think with this hard fork, BCH price will cross the $1,500 level and hit the $2,000 mark? Share your thoughts with us!