BITCOIN Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency that is a fork of Bitcoin. Both a cryptocurrency and payment network, BCH is a spin-off that was created in 2017 as miners as well as developers were concerned about the future of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency and its ability to scale effectively.
BCH was launched in August 2017 due to a fork, a community-activated update to the protocol or code, of the original Bitcoin blockchain.
The main motive of the fork was to increase the block size in the blockchain from 1 megabyte (MB) to 32MB to facilitate faster transactions. As a result, this cryptocurrency is regarded by some as a faster and cheaper system alternative to Bitcoin.
Similar to Bitcoin, the total amount of BCH that can ever exist is 21 million, with around 18 million bitcoins have been mined.
A permission-less and open network, BCH started to gain popularity among investors in recent times as it rose from US$634 in early April to the peak of around US$1,818 in early May, making it the best performing cryptocurrency during the period.
Today, BCH is one of the most widely traded cryptocurrencies in the world with a market capitalisation of US$18.77 bil.
On the local front, Luno has announced that it is the first Securities Commission (SC)-approved digital asset exchange in Malaysia to offer BCH for trading on its platform.
From May 5 onwards, Malaysians can buy, sell as well as learn about BCH on Luno.
BCH – the fifth approved digital asset in Malaysia – is now part of Luno’s growing list of digital asset offerings in Malaysia which includes Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC).
“We only list safe, reputable digital assets that have the utility benefits our customers want which is why we have introduced BCH after seeking approval from the SC,” Luno Malaysia Country manager Aaron Tang said.
Tang hopes that the introduction of BCH on Luno’s platform will inspire Malaysian users to explore cryptocurrency further and learn about the benefits they offer, be it for trading or investment.
With less than two years after its relaunched (in 2019), Luno has surpassed half a million verified users (588,994) in Malaysia with an influx of new users in the latter parts of 2020.
This represents over 300% quarter-on-quarter (qoq) customer growth and RM3.97 bil in total transactions, indicating a positive trend of cryptocurrency demand in Malaysia.
Furthermore, Luno is managing more than RM1 bil of digital assets today. – May 5, 2021
