Bitcoin SV (BSV) Skyrockets 80%: The Reasons Behind the Surge

While Bitcoin has been consolidating around the USD $40K (AUD $59K) mark, one closely related cryptocurrency has bucked the trend and left its peers in the dust: Bitcoin SV (BSV). The Bitcoin hard fork has enjoyed a spectacular 24 hours, rising 20% since yesterday. This caps off a stellar week, with the coin jumping from about USD $50 (AUD $74) to USD $90 (AUD $131) – an 80% increase.

Why is Bitcoin SV Leading the Charge? 

There have been no major news or events that have really propelled the spot price of Bitcoin SV. Simply, hype and overwhelming demand for the coin is the leading cause of its 80% gains. Interestingly, one demographic in particular is leading the way – South Korean traders. 

Exchanges across the crypto space have documented an absurd 600% increase in trading volume for the Bitcoin derivative, valued at around USD $612 million (AUD $900 million) in just one day. According to crypto data platform CoinGecko, over two-thirds of this volume is from the South Korean exchange Upbit. 

In somewhat relevant news, South Korea has recently updated its regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in an attempt to prevent illegal activities such as fraud. While the tightening of restrictions may appear to be a negative thing at first glance, it’s possible that it has provided a greater sense of safety to South Korean institutions, who are now flocking to the scene and purchasing undervalued crypto assets. 

What is Bitcoin SV?

To understand Bitcoin SV, we must understand hard forks. As cryptocurrencies are typically decentralised, this means that the community has a major say in blockchain development and upgrades. A hard fork occurs when an ecosystem is split on the future of an asset – so rather than compromising, they replicate the original network’s code and make their own adjustments to it. 

Bitcoin SV is a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which, in turn, is a hard fork of Bitcoin. These splits occurred due to Bitcoin’s focus on becoming an equivalent of digital gold, rather than Satoshi’s original vision of a peer-to-peer electronic payments system. Bitcoin SV intends to accomplish this by focussing on scalability and minuscule transaction fees.

The project hasn’t been without controversy, with major centralised exchange Coinbase delisting the crypto in 2021. BSV has never truly recovered from this, with the asset’s current run still miles off its previous all-time high of USD $441.30 (AUD $646.90).

However, this hasn’t stopped some believers from claiming that BSV is on its way to toppling the King of cryptocurrency – no matter how unlikely it may be.