Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash Battle of November 2017 - Originally posted November 13, 2017

As it’s been some time since I’ve written, and given the recent BTC vs. BCH battle royale, and as the dust currently settles, it’s time for words to be lain.
I wrote last year at http://www.satoshitimes.wikidot.com , or was it two now, that bitcoin may well one day be replaced by an alt. BCH has tried. And, at least for now, has failed. Take-aways follow:

Bitcoin has, for now, fended off an attack and currently stands rather firmly. Still, this is not to say that an alt might one day take down BTC or at least creep up on it. BTC has issues, see below.
BTC is proving itself as the hegemony in store-of-value. When I first got wind of bitcoin, I asked on a forum something as simple as, “What is bitcoin?” One of the first responses that I got, by a woman as I recall, read, “Digital gold.” I was at first taken aback and thought the response was flippant and smart-alecky. ‘Oh, they MINE it like gold, so it’s gold. Hah, hah.’ I thought. But, doggone it, she was right! The scarcity and work required to get it makes it cannily like tangible gold.
But, the store-of-value currently comes at a price of usability. The fees of BTC deem it essentially unusable. I ask, does BTC currently pass the coffee test? That is, is it practical to go to the local coffee shop with a “Bitcoin accepted here” sign and pay for your coffee with BTC. It is not. So, one of two things will have to happen. Either an alt with low fees and fast transactions will fill this bitcoin void, or bitcoin must adapt. Lightning, or something akin, must come and likely must come fast. Else, the void will quickly be filled.
During the Battle of the Bitcoins of November 2017, thoughts arose to pull the switcheroo. Personally, my gut feeling balked. There are certain things about BCH that bothered me and, growingly, do so even more. Here are some things that smell like day-old oysters:

BCHers speak of Bitcoin Cash as being the true descendant of Satoshi’s dencentralized vision. This, despite BCH being backed by big miners and Asian markets.
The timing after the cancellation of Segwit2X is stunning.
I really don’t follow it closely, but the players between the B2X cancellation and the BCH rise seem to overlap. Something smells fishy.
Reports of irregular trading out of Korean markets also seem fishy. Again, I don’t follow that entirely closely, nor want to, but that smell.
Tweets by Gavin, whom I’ve always respected and from whom I’m pretty sure I got my first bitcoin thanks to his faucet, and by Roger Ver read verbatim about their original work on bitcoin. Hmm.

As a final thought, I’d simply say to bitcoin and to stubborn backers who won’t budge due to ‘philosophical beliefs’, “Make the adjustments—do what’s necessary to (a) minimize fees and (b) speed transactions.” If you/we don’t, the market will do it for us.

Originally published on http://satoshitimes.wikidot.com
November 13, 2017
LINK: http://satoshitimes.wikidot.com/blog:21

Although dated, this is being posted here on the Hive blockchain so that it's archived.