Bitcoin Cash has experienced a significant increase of over 13% in the past 24 hours, making it the top gainer among the leading 100 cryptocurrencies as of July 29.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) had surged by 13.6% over the last 24 hours and was trading at $451. The crypto asset’s daily trading volume was around $427 million. The market cap of Bitcoin Cash stood at $8.75 billion, making it the 16th largest crypto asset. Despite the recent price rise, the token remains 88.3% below its all-time high of $3,785.8, reached on December 20, 2017.

Background of Bitcoin Cash

Originating from a hard fork of Bitcoin in 2017, Bitcoin Cash was created due to disagreements within the Bitcoin community regarding proposed upgrades. Like its predecessor, Bitcoin Cash operates on a Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism, has a capped supply of 21 million coins, and undergoes a halving event every four years. The reward for mining Bitcoin Cash is currently set at 6.25 BCH.

Key Differences Between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash

A notable distinction between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash is the block size. Bitcoin Cash supports blocks of up to 32 MB, significantly larger than Bitcoin’s 1 MB limit. This larger block size enables Bitcoin Cash to process a greater number of transactions within the same time frame.

Investor Interest in Bitcoin Cash

The recent price rally underscores a rising interest from investors, particularly retail traders, in more economically priced alternatives to Bitcoin, which currently trades around $70,000 per unit. While Bitcoin remains one of the priciest crypto assets, making full ownership challenging for some investors, Bitcoin Cash and similar hard forks present more accessible investment opportunities due to their lower price points.

Factors Contributing to the Surge

The recent surge in Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is partially attributed to Kraken’s successful distribution of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to customers affected by the 2014 Mt. Gox hack. This distribution occurred on July 27, 2024, marking a crucial step in resolving the long-standing case.

“Significant whale activity has been reported with notable purchases of BCH.”

A trading analyst highlighted that Bitcoin Cash has emerged from an inverse head and shoulders pattern, suggesting a bullish trend. He predicts that BCH could see a further 15-20% price increase based on this momentum.

Market Sentiment and Other Cryptocurrencies

Meanwhile, interest in Bitcoin has spiked following significant announcements about major initiatives involving digital assets, including a proposal for a national Bitcoin reserve in the U.S. Currently, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $69,716, having increased by 3.23% over the last 24 hours.

Other leading altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Litecoin (LTC) have also posted modest gains. The overall crypto market sentiment is positive, with the Market Fear & Greed Index displaying a score of 63 (Greed) out of 100.

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization currently stands at $2.48 trillion, reflecting a growth of 3.34% in the past 24 hours.

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