NYT said it, WSJ said it, Ars says it, every academic had been calling it out. There's a big change and it's not good for Bitcoin. https:\/\/t.co\/IJ5pRfwKnD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Emin G\u00fcn Sirer (@el33th4xor) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bitcoin advocates attack BCH for what they perceive as misrepresentation \u2014 piggybacking off the popularity of BTC instead of trying to build up their project on its own merits. Ver often makes statements conflating the two projects\u2019 identities, such as: \u201cBitcoin Cash is the true Bitcoin.\u201d He went even farther Wednesday afternoon:<\/p>\n Bitcoin Cash is Bitcoin. \u2014 Roger Ver (@rogerkver) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Critics believe that BCH is trying to capitalize on confusion, receiving money intended for Bitcoin; for instance, the official Bitcoin.com mobile app creates a Bitcoin Cash wallet instead of a BTC one by default. A recent, unverified anecdote from a Bitcoin fan claims that he witnessed someone lose money trying to buy Bitcoin at an ATM, not realizing that the wallet he created with Ver\u2019s app could not receive it.<\/p>\n I'm at a bitcoin atm in Athens. Literally just saw a kid buy some BTC and accidentally give it a bcash address because of https:\/\/t.co\/qC5qSYMoby<\/a>'s confusing iOS wallet UI in 5 minutes of being here. Money lost. pic.twitter.com\/87kB28HETq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ben Slaney (@BenedictSlaney) December 8, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What is Coinbase?<\/p>\n Coinbase is one of the biggest companies for people in the English-speaking world to convert their fiat currency into digital currency. Most \u201ccryptocurrency\u201d exchanges do not allow users to convert U.S. dollars, thanks to strict regulatory requirements, but Coinbase and its real-time trading platform GDAX have made the process simple enough for many users who are not technologically savvy. Until Tuesday, Coinbase only exchanged fiat currency for Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.<\/p>\n Before we get further into the story, consider my biases:<\/strong> I am a Coinbase\/GDAX user. I have converted less than $100 into the three digital currencies they sold before Tuesday: Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. I use and have written positively about other exchanges, too, such as Uphold<\/a>. I am not a Bitcoin \u201cmaximalist\u201d \u2014 people who invest only in Bitcoin and aspire to use only Bitcoin for all of their financial transactions. I see merit in other digital currencies and decentralized apps for various uses, but I do want Bitcoin to succeed in the long term and tend to agree with Bitcoin maximalists\u2019 criticisms of Bitcoin Cash. Seeing how its big backers react<\/a> to the nickname \u201cBCash\u201d<\/a> makes me concede that it appears BCH\u2019s growth depends almost entirely on another coin\u2019s established brand name.<\/p>\n Why are people angry with Coinbase?<\/p>\n Bitcoin fans perceive Coinbase is stacking the deck against BTC so that it can boost demand for \u201caltcoins,\u201d which it can sell more profitably while Bitcoin\u2019s mining fees are abnormally high. They cite Forbes\u2019<\/em> 2017 profile of Coinbase\u2019s CEO Brian Armstrong<\/a>, which reveals that he owns more Ethereum than Bitcoin. They feel the company is dragging its feet on integrating SegWit, a code upgrade to reduce the cost and speed of BTC transactions which will also enable the use of an upcoming upgrade called Lightning.<\/p>\n The general reaction to Coinbase\u2019s BCH launch appears to be a widespread lack of trust and allegations of incompetence \u2014 or worse, market manipulation\/crimes.<\/p>\n Let me get this straight:<\/p>\n Coinbase's main problems are keeping the exchange servers up and dealing with high BTC fees.<\/p>\n So instead of integrating Segwit, they add BCash and make both problems worse.<\/p>\n Right. Makes sense.<\/p>\n \u2014 KP [DELETE COINBASE] (@_Kevin_Pham) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Is @coinbase<\/a> smart enough to have timed this announcement w\/ Bitcoin mining difficulty retarget period, peak mempool\/tx fees right after @CMEGroup<\/a> futures\/bull run to maximize damage to Bitcoin (slow network+fees) to compound BCash trading gains with news cycle spin control?<\/p>\n \u2014 Francis Pouliot (@francispouliot_) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n My thoughts on today's events. pic.twitter.com\/03AKYDJgMy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 James Jimmerson (@bigjim6464) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cInsider Trading\u201d<\/p>\n Coinbase launched its trading capability for Bitcoin Cash around 8:20 EST, with an announcement on GDAX\u2019s status page about 75 minutes beforehand. Several critics pointed out that trading volume on other exchanges \u2014 and thus the BCH price \u2014 curiously spiked in the hours before Coinbase made its announcement. That led to widespread accusations of \u201cinsider trading.\u201d<\/p>\n If this is not inside trading, I don't know what is!<\/p>\n Massive volume on #bcash<\/a> hours prior to @coinbase<\/a> announcement @SEC_Enforcement<\/a> take notice!#Bitcoin<\/a>#BTC<\/a>#BCH<\/a>#Crypto<\/a>#hyperbitcoinization<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/ABKLH5DLSA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DC [HODL] (@bitcoinization) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Very strange accumulation and pump on Bcash in the hours leading up to the @Coinbase<\/a> BCH add. If I didn't know better, I'd think that was potential insider trading activity. @GDAX<\/a> 'ed? #bitcoin<\/a>#bcash<\/a>#bch<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/leX8ro0MFf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Whalepool (@whalepool) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Advice to exchanges: when trying to tank #Bitcoin<\/a> to pump an altcoin (eg #Bcash<\/a>), at least try to look like you're not colluding or engaging in insider trading WHILE leaving a huge trail of anti-Bitcoin sentiment WHILE promoting every single contentious fork.<\/p>\n \u2014 Samson Mow (@Excellion) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n hey @coinbase<\/a> , @GDAX<\/a> and @brian_armstrong<\/a> by being part of a product index for @CMEGroup<\/a> you agreed to certain rules. Since bch news was clearly leaked around 2:30pm CST to certain parties. this qualifies as insider trading. Hope you enjoy the incoming complaints.<\/p>\n \u2014 I am Nomad (@IamNomad) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n @rogerkver<\/a> pubicly accumulated the majority of BCH just before @Coinbase<\/a> listed the coin. Roger & @brian_armstrong<\/a> worked together for years to remove Core. Hence Brian blocks segwit while listing a 5 month old coin & someone tips Roger off? @fredwilson<\/a>@davidmarcus<\/a>@katie_haun<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/0h8OQgVFDx<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Justin Armstrong vowed to internally investigate the matter in a blog post<\/a> published mid-maelstrom: \u201cIf we find evidence of any employee or contractor violating our policies \u2014 directly or indirectly \u2014 I will not hesitate to terminate the employee immediately and take appropriate legal action,\u201d he wrote. Armstrong claimed that employees and contractors were forbidden from trading Bitcoin Cash on any exchange or disclosing the company\u2019s plans, even to \u201cfriends and family\u201d \u2014 \u201cover a month ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet given the semi-anonymous nature of BTC\/BCH, it appears almost impossible for a private company to effectively investigate insider trading or enforce non-disclosure rules. Bitcoin exchanges without fiat support do not require identity verification, so we may never discover who acquired Bitcoin Cash right before the Coinbase launch. Bitcoin maximalists mocked Armstrong rather mercilessly for his statement.<\/p>\n Brian, you don't have the power to fire @rogerkver<\/a> \u2026 Did HE know about the listing beforehand?! https:\/\/t.co\/QuODc2lxgz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 John Carvalho (@BitcoinErrorLog) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Brian, how many companies in the world that have been found guilty of fraud, market manipulation, insider trading, etc have had written policies that allowed them to do so?<\/p>\n \u2014 Richard Jenkins (@rjenkins_atl) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A self investigation? Where have I heard this before? The responsible thing to do is announce to all in advance when trading will being instead of trying to hide information that can easily be capitalized on. @coinbase<\/a> is becoming very shady, we will no longer recommend them.<\/p>\n \u2014 \u0243itConsultants (@BitConsultants) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hey Brian, would you like to explain to the jury\u2026https:\/\/t.co\/9qtduiODXL<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/aQuop6HQa8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Vortex (@theonevortex) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n pic.twitter.com\/9BYSCvR3k6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Crypto Yury [LTC] (@Zerobacan) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Failure to Launch<\/p>\n Even as most traders were caught off guard by the launch, it seems Coinbase and GDAX were not prepared, either. The site quickly halted the ability to buy and sell BCH \u2014 after only four minutes<\/em> of trading, according to GDAX\u2019s status updates.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The sudden activation of BCH trades seemed to contradict multiple public statements from the company. Coinbase VP Dan Romero wrote<\/a> just days before the BCH launch that \u201cWe are prioritizing security and performance over new features,\u201d promising customers that the company was more focused on integrating SegWit than adding new products to the service.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of our engineering priorities, securely storing customer funds remains our top priority,\u201d Romero said. \u201cOur next priority is to ensure that our platform remains performant during periods of peak volume. Following security and performance, we are focused on adding new features for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n Four days after publishing this blog, Coinbase launched a new feature that inarguably choked its performance.<\/p>\n "Surprise! We're launching a new market in 3\u20262\u20261\u2026" pic.twitter.com\/kDydHKQxDF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jameson Lopp (@lopp) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In addition, most users expected the company to limit Bitcoin Cash functionality to withdrawals for at least a brief time period. Romero published a blog post on August 3<\/a>, several days after the creation of Bitcoin Cash, promising to give users access to their forked coins by January 1, 2018. He seemed to suggest that trading support would come \u201cat a later date\u201d \u2014 after the creation of BCH wallets for all Coinbase users. That expectation was reinforced by a \u201croad map\u201d displayed on Coinbase\u2019s website just days before the launch (as seen in a December 13 archive here<\/a>).<\/p>\n This was #Coinbase<\/a> Roadmap published 4 days ago. this was totally a misleading practice. No announcement, fake roadmap. You just lost a shit ton of trust. Time to change exchanger. pic.twitter.com\/6GapqvYJr1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andrea Disperati (@Andrea_Dispe) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Don\u2019t forget they posted THiS on coinbase less then 5 days ago! Is he suggesting they didn\u2019t know about there own $BCH<\/a> launch 5 days ago? pic.twitter.com\/biZWouJ0jG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SafteyFirst (@mononokeSnow) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n you had this plan a month ago? you launched 12 days early, changed your faq and introduced BCH trading when you specifically listed it would only be withdrawls. you want trust? lol start with doing what you say.<\/p>\n \u2014 LAUNDERS \u00d7 BOXR (@launders) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Coinbase did not respond to an email from Breitbart News asking why the company launched trading with almost no advance notice \u2014 instead of first giving users time to withdraw and manage the BCH they gained during the August fork, then announcing a future date when trading would begin. Coinbase did not answer whether an apparent leak<\/a> of BCH functionality in their API accelerated the decision to activate Bitcoin Cash trading.<\/p>\n At the time of this writing, the Coinbase website is still using placeholder images on the page containing its instructions for BCH purchases.<\/p>\n How rushed was this launch? Coinbase's page titled "Buy Bitcoin Cash" only loads graphics instructing people to convert USD to Litecoin: https:\/\/t.co\/iGTpYMimdw<\/a><\/p>\n Archive here: https:\/\/t.co\/C82TzWhcT2<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/AqI7OOWc4w<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ezra Dulis (@ezradulis) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cPrice Manipulation\u201d<\/p>\n After Coinbase and GDAX disabled Bitcoin Cash trades, users posted several screenshots of the interface showing the coin\u2019s price spiking way above $9,000, while on virtually all other exchanges it hadn\u2019t cracked $4,000. The Twitter account of a CNBC program used one of these screenshots to tease an interview with Roger Ver on Wednesday.<\/p>\n #BitcoinCash<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/LKthWUXJBQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CNBC's Fast Money (@CNBCFastMoney) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n BCH critics expressed concern that the appearance of such a dramatic price pump would give unrealistic expectations for investors.<\/p>\n Coinbase: "We've added Bitcoin Cash!" \u2014 akira (@0xa59a2d) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This is bizarre. #Coinbase<\/a> introduces BCH, prices shoot up to over $8k USD. Thousands of sell orders. Suddenly, price drops back down by over $5k. Price manipulation at it's finest. #HODL<\/a>$BTC.X<\/a>#GDAX<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/FQrc0Asybr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Makram Kamaleddine (@makramkd) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kinda weird timing man. Now tomorrow Roger Ver showing CNBC a screenshot of BCH at 8500 on CB app so when holiday shoppers with dispensable income and cryptolust see its 3k they\u2019re gonna jump on the \u201cdeal\u201d.<\/p>\n \u2014 Saurav Shrestha (@realsshrestha) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The morning after, that spike was no longer visible on the site\u2019s price chart for Bitcoin Cash.<\/p>\n funny how they are scrubbing right now trying to get rid of all the evidence pic.twitter.com\/ltWkAH9Bmc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \u20bf-rockin (@Cryp_walkin) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n At the time of this writing, Bitcoin\u2019s price has dipped to around $16,400 per full unit, down from a high earlier this week of about $20,000 but roughly the same as it was one week ago. Bitcoin Cash is currently trading about $4,000 per full unit, according to CoinMarketCap.<\/p>\n BOYCOTT<\/p>\n The Bitcoin community is doing everything it can to make Coinbase feel the heat for the events of the past 24 hours \u2014 with many of the company\u2019s critics urging others to boycott or delete the app and promoting a rival exchange called Gemini.<\/p>\n Boycott Coinbase and put these scum out of business. Use Gemini instead. #BoycottCoinbase<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/M4bQtY1LtR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pumpy \u0e3frewster [It's Bcash Okay!] (@PumpyBrewster) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Coinbase short-sighted money grab is @GeminiDotCom<\/a> 's gain. Trust is the number one concern for new adopters and nobody can trust Coinbase after today. #bitcoin<\/a>#Coinbase<\/a>#Crypto<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/k37K1lwufR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 WarriorPoets (@SurlyBull) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Personally closing two millionaire accounts on @coinbase<\/a> today and shutting off auto purchase. Goodbye @brian_armstrong<\/a> I truly hope you become Myspace. #BoycottCoinbase<\/a>#bitcoin<\/a> #<\/p>\n \u2014 Adam Selene (@green18bean) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Personally, I\u2019m not sure that I will stop using Coinbase\u2019s GDAX platform \u2014 which allows me to exchange small amounts of USD for Bitcoin without any fees. And I doubt that a Twitter campaign will make a noticeable dent in the company\u2019s bottom line; it has millions of users and processes billions of dollars in assets. But Coinbase users, like anyone buying from digital currency exchanges, should exercise extreme caution and make sure that you <\/em>own your Bitcoin. The whole point of the technology is to have trustless exchange \u2014 and it\u2019s becoming clearer that any centralized store or exchange of assets should not automatically be trusted. Always remember to store your assets offline if possible, in hardware or paper wallets, or on a device that is only connected to the Internet when you need to use it.<\/p>\n This article should not be considered financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any assets as investments.<\/em><\/p>\n Ezra Dulis is Deputy Managing Editor of Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter<\/a> or on Steemit<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a>Original Article<\/p>\n [contf] [contfnew] [contfnewc] [contfnewc] <\/p>\n The post The Bitcoin Community Is Furious with Coinbase\u2019s Surprise Launch of \u2018BCash\u2019<\/a> appeared first on News Wire Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bitcoin owners and enthusiasts spent Tuesday night and Wedne..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Bitcoin Core is not. pic.twitter.com\/DAqKNKYRLr<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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(@TheJustinWade) December 20, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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Bitcoin Cash: [pumps]
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Bitcoin Cash: [dumps]
Coinbase: "Bitcoin Cash sales are currently disabled."
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<\/p>\nBreitbart<\/a><\/h5>\n