ShapeShift Gets Pulled Into BTC/BCH Debate Over Partnership With Bitcoin.com Wallet
Advertisement
ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency exchange, has been pulled into the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) versus bitcoin (BTC) debate by partnering with the @BitcoinCom wallet that exchanges BTC for BCH. ShapeShift has stated via a tweet there was a miscommunication in its latest announcement concerning its partnership with the @BitcoinCom Wallet. ShapeShift stands by its offering to provide its API integration services for the wallet, but it also stands by its position to refer to bitcoin as bitcoin, and not Bitcoin Core.
Some have criticized the marketing practices of Bitcoin.com regarding BCH.
Two days ago, ShapeShift announced that it has integrated its full API to support Bitcoin.com wallet user exchange between BTC and BCH and vice versa. It noted the Bitcoin.com wallet app became available in mid 2017 and more than 1.7 million wallets have been created on the platform. The ShapeShift integration expands the features in allowing the wallet’s users to exchange BTC for BCH.
Bitcoin.com’s Position
Bitcoin.com, which provides a free wallet, states on its website that the Bitcoin Core network is in trouble due to high fees and slow transaction times, and that Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is the upgrade that solves these problems, and provides a guide for people to learn more about Bitcoin Cash. The website clearly states that it supports both BTC and BCH.
Roger Ver, who owns Bitcoin.com, applauded ShapeShift for making the exchange between BTC and BCH easy. Ver has claimed that BCH is the same bitcoin that people used from 2009 to 2017, and that it will eventually surpass BTC in popularity and market capitalization. He has incurred significant criticism for his repeated support for hard forks associated with the bitcoin block size challenge.
Also read: Bitcoin Cash will surpass bitcoin because of its ‘formula,’ says Roger Ver
BTC/BCH Debate Continues
Bitcoin Cash was created by a hard fork in the bitcoin blockchain on Aug. 1, 2017. There has since been some disagreement as to whether BTC or BCH is the original bitcoin blockchain.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a draft of a blockchain technology primer claiming that BCH is the original blockchain, a position that immediately drew criticism.
Some claim that the original bitcoin blockchain has diverged from Satoshi’s original vision for bitcoin. Others, however, claim BCH was created by the Aug. 1 hard fork and is therefore not the original bitcoin blockchain.
<brFollow @davidlanz for real-time crypto news!