Bitcoin Rival Launches in Volatile First Day

Bitcoin Cash trades at about 11% of a bitcoin’s value, or around $300

Bitcoin Cash, a tweaked version of the digital currency created by one side in an industry rift, started trading Tuesday. If it wants to be bitcoin’s equal, it is about 10% of the way there.

Most digital currency exchanges and services at this point aren’t supporting Bitcoin Cash. One exchange that is, China-based ViaBTC, has been allowing trading in the coin even before it goes live. On that basis, Bitcoin Cash was most recently trading at about 11% of a bitcoin’s value, roughly in line with traders’ projections in the days leading up to the launch.

With the original bitcoin trading at around $2,750, Bitcoin Cash was worth around $300. Another virtual currency tracker, Coinmarket.com, showed Bitcoin Cash falling to about $242 from a high of about $400 in volatile trading.

Depending on where Bitcoin Cash stabilizes, it could have a total market value of several billion dollars, instantly making it one of the most valuable virtual currencies.

The new bitcoin spawn promises users a currency optimized for fast and cheap transactions, as opposed to bitcoin, which has grown in popularity despite limits on how fast it trades. After rallying sharply in recent weeks, bitcoin declined about 5% Tuesday, according to Coindesk.

While trades were being reported and Bitcoin Cash prices fluctuated to as high as 15% of a bitcoin, trades aren’t expected to be confirmed for several hours.

It is unclear how successful the new cryptocurrency will be, or how much activity it will generate.

Bitcoin Cash was announced as a project on July 22, a response to a controversial industry compromise settled on a week earlier. That compromise agreement was aimed at resolving a two-year-old impasse over a technical issue: how best to expand network capacity.

The agreement remained controversial enough that this splinter group took the extreme step of “forking” bitcoin’s software, essentially creating an updated version of the program and running it live.

Launching a new version of bitcoin is technically complicated, and many exchanges were choosing to sit this one out, literally, at least until it was clear whether or not the new currency was stable.

Gemini, the U.S. exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins, suspended bitcoin deposits and withdrawals on Monday night, and said the suspension would remain in effect until “after we believe the Bitcoin Network has stabilized, which is anticipated to be sometime Wednesday.”

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