Top bitcoin marketplace Coinbase has rolled out support for rival digital currency Bitcoin Cash, prompting a 10% drop in the value of bitcoin yesterday.
The platform, which is the most popular place for U.S. users to buy and sell bitcoin, said yesterday that users would immediately be able to buy and sell Bitcoin Cash, “once there is sufficient liquidity,” according to a Coinbase blog post.
However, Coinbase followed that news with an announcement that buying, selling (and trading) Bitcoin Cash would probably not become available to customers until today. This is in keeping with Coinbase’s recent struggles with high demand, as interest in cryptocurrency continues to grow.
An alternative digital currency, Bitcoin Cash split or “forked” from the main bitcoin blockchain in August 2017. The coin was initially made to solve some of the highly contested issues on the bitcoin blockchain, including improved transaction speeds and lower transaction costs.
Bitcoin is currently down 5.5%, trading at $17,199.10 as of 9am ET today, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin Cash is up 59% as of 9am ET today, trading at $3,772.30.
Read more at Coinbase, Bloomberg, and CNBC.
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