Fork Watch: BCH – The Ghost in the Exchange – Mostly

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has so far been like a ghost in the exchange; there was little market activity with the currency this morning. Market actors appeared to be waiting for the network to settle. However, Kraken does seem to be trading more intensely now, at press time. The start of the Bitcoin Cash chain split has begun. The divide was initiated on August 1 at 12:37 p.m. Futures of BCH have been trading for about $400, and it spiked this morning before shedding a bit of its value. 

Also read: Fork Watch: Block 478558 Initiates ‘Bitcoin Cash’ Split

Current Exchange Activity is Mostly Silent, but the Kraken has Awakened

Kraken

There was little BCH activity on the exchanges earlier this morning. Things have been mostly silent. However, Kraken tweeted they brought Bitcoin Cash live for trading. After a few hours, there now seems to be more activity on the exchange, albeit mainly sell orders populate the first page. Earlier the exchange announced it would begin crediting bitcoin cash this morning.

Current Kraken TradingKraken buy orders earlier this morning prior to heavier trading

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) trading is now live!

— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) August 1, 2017

Poloniex and Bittrex

Other exchanges may be silent in regards to BCH because they may not be providing support for it. For instance, Poloniex has said they “may” support it depending on the outcome of the fork, so it is no surprise that trading is silent.

Bittrex, on the other hand, said they will allow active trading for BCH and credit users for their BCH. However, the site mentioned that if no active market opened up for BCH, they would forgo trading and allow people to withdrawal it. They said:

Bittrex will monitor the BCC network stability and developments and assess the viability of opening trading of BCC assets. There is no guarantee that any markets will open to allow BCC assets to be tradable on Bittrex exchange. In the case of no BCC market opening you will be able to withdraw BCC.

As of the time of writing, they have not opened up BCH trading.

Other Exchanges and Their Plans for BCH

Large exchange Bitfinex has promised to credit BCH, but they were more silent on whether they will allow trading. This morning they halted btc trading altogether. They said, “We will stop processing $BTC deposits at noon UTC until the situation has settled. Deposits after that time will not be eligible for $BCH.” At press time, there was no BCH trading on Bitfinex.

There has been some active trading on Viabtc, although it seems the trading has just begun to pick up a bit. From the get go, the exchange planned to support BCH. Cryptofacilities provided a handy chart with what exchanges were originally planning to do in terms of BCH:

Struggling to keep track of which exchanges support #BitcoinCash? This table helps break it down. Many exchanges crediting, but not listing pic.twitter.com/90e6shHtiD

— Crypto Facilities (@CryptoFLtd) July 29, 2017

A Wild Ride on the Markets

Overall, the pace of trading BCH on these exchanges could change wildly and rapidly. The morning was slow, but market indicators suggest that more trading is beginning to pick up. It is hard to say how BCH will perform, especially since the network is still trying to find its comfort zone. It will be interesting to see if BCH gains traction on the market. Either way, prepare for unexpected twists and turns as the fork situation unfolds.

Do you think there will be a market for BCH? Will trading begin to pick up? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Kraken

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