Share this article
Bitcoin Cash Just Split Into Two Blockchains
A contentious hard fork on the bitcoin cash blockchain has been activated.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:36 a.m. Published Nov 15, 2018, 6:05 p.m.
The code for Bitcoin cash's hard fork has been activated.
With neither side of the contentious debate leading up to the hard fork willing to come to a compromise, two competing implementations of the protocol have now been activated. However, it's unclear at this juncture which of the two will become the dominant software of the BCH network – or if two distinct chains will continue to co-exist in the long-term.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The last "common block" among bitcoin cash miners was #556,766, mined by SVPool. As of press time, Bitcoin.com – which is supporting Bitcoin ABC – had mined a new block, signifying that the two chains have divided into two, according to data from Coin.Dance.
To recap, the implementation put out by leading bitcoin cash developer group Bitcoin ABC introduces a series of technical upgrades to the network, such as a reordering of transactions to increase block capacity as well as additional code to support greater interoperability between cryptocurrencies.
The other implementation, dubbed Bitcoin “Satoshi’s Vision” or Bitcoin SV, rejects these changes to instead restore retired code from the original bitcoin protocol and increases the block size from 32 MB to 128 MB.
In the lead-up to this event, threats of chain sabotage by avid Bitcoin SV supporter Craig Wright suggested the potential use of hash power to mine both a Bitcoin SV chain and create empty blocks on an opposing Bitcoin ABC chain, which could fatally damage operations on the opposing network.
Though refuted by Bitcoin ABC supporters as unlikely, data three days prior to hard fork activation revealed that bitcoin cash mining pools supporting Bitcoin SV actually consolidated a majority of the network's total hash power, suggesting strong capability to follow through on the threat.
These numbers as they relate to hash power are still highly subject to change. Indeed, there remains the possibility of mining support switching from one side to another, as well as additional resources being added to reinforce either chain.
With several platforms closely tracking the outcome of events still to come, the future of the bitcoin cash community remains to be determined.
Road image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
How Much Longer Until We Consider the Bitcoin Power Law Model Invalid?
As the gap between spot bitcoin price and the power law widens, investors are left questioning whether mean reversion is coming or if another cornerstone model is approaching its end.
What to know:
- Bitcoin has largely tracked its long standing power law trend this cycle, though it now trades about 32% below the model.
- Earlier models like stock to flow have already failed, with its current implied valuation near $1.3 million per bitcoin
Top Stories
