Roger Ver, the controversial virtual currency advocate and current CEO of Bitcoin.com, seems to be having a hard time garnering support for Bitcoin Cash, despite preaching about the second coming of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Cash Barely Being Used in Commerce
According to the latest analytics from Chainalysis, Bitcoin Cash is barely being used in commerce, despite it being the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Chainalysis reviewed payments received by the world’s 17 largest merchant processing services, such as Coinify, GoCoin, and BitPay, and found that Bitcoin Cash payments totaled $3.7 million in May 2018. A sharp contrast from its $10.5 million high in March, the slump in Bitcoin Cash usage in commerce comes as no surprise to experts.
“There are fewer users of Bitcoin Cash, fewer holders,” Kim Grauer, a senior economist at Chainalysis, told Bloomberg.
Grauer argued that the currency’s adoption in commerce could be a result of concentrated ownership. According to Chainalysis, about 56 percent of Bitcoin Cash is controlled by 67 wallets. None of the wallets are located on exchanges, and two of the 67 hold between 10,000 and 100,000 Bitcoin Cash.
Roger Ver
( Source: Youtube)
Controversy Also Seems to Be Pushing Away New Believers
Roger Ver, an early cryptocurrency advocate, switched his allegiance from Bitcoin to Bitcoin Cash after it forked off the original cryptocurrency in August 2017 and overhauled his website, Bitcoin.com, to promote Bitcoin Cash.
After months of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash advocates trading barbs on social media and engaging in a debate over the ownership of Bitcoin.org, the latter was off to a rocky start. Despite an official investigation found no wrongdoing, rumors of insider trading at Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., added to the devaluation of Bitcoin Cash. However, many users in the cryptosphere believe Coinbase jeopardized the investigation by making it internal.
The one year anniversary of the clone cryptocurrency also attracted negative press after the crypto token handed out free bitcoin cash to participants who successfully scanned the QR code on flyers put up in more than 15 cities around the world.
Despite Ver’s unremitting and often aggressive support, the PR stunt didn’t manage to amp up bitcoin cash spending. Plagued by rumors of an impending class-action lawsuit, Ver’s ability to attract new investors and increase Bitcoin Cash market cap seems to be failing.
According to Wallet Investor, Ver is being accused of deliberately misusing the Bitcoin name on his website and committing consumer fraud. A Telegram chatroom called “Bitcoin.com lawsuit/victims” already has more than 400 members, and the potential lawsuit is being organized by Twitter user @MoneyTrigz, the co-owner of Coindaily.co.
Ver, however, seems to be undeterred by the controversy surrounding him. In an August 13 tweet, he highlighted how many transactions Bitcoin Cash had, saying “the long-term price of a cryptocurrency is a function of its usefulness as a currency.”