Goodbye Bitcoin SV: Coinbase Dumps Controversial Fork

• Coinbase will drop wallet support for BSV.
• BSV trading was halted by Coinbase in 2021.
• Craig Wright faces a legal hearing in the UK High Court in January 2024.

Bitcoin has seen many forks over the years as groups attempt to emulate its success. One of the more contentious forks has been Bitcoin Cash, which would later splinter into Bitcoin SV in November 2018. Led by Craig Wright, Bitcoin SV positioned itself as fulfilling Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision for Bitcoin by massively scaling up its block size to 4GB, dwarfing Bitcoin’s block capacity.

Several high-profile court cases have resulted from Wright’s claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto. This has led many in the cryptocurrency space to deride Bitcoin SV. In a further twist in the ongoing saga, major exchange Coinbase has decided to end support for Bitcoin SV.

Coinbase Ends Bitcoin SV Support

Coinbase recently emailed users that it will end support for Bitcoin SV on January 9, 2024. According to the announcement, the company recommended users withdraw Bitcoin SV funds held on Coinbase before that deadline. Bitcoin SV balances remaining after the cutoff date will be liquidated, and the funds will be converted into another cryptocurrency of equivalent value to be credited back to affected users.

The company warned that forced liquidation and the subsequent credit back may result in a loss after conversion due to transaction fees and market fluctuations. Coinbase made clear they will not compensate users for any losses from forced liquidations. The exchange also noted that this mandatory sale of assets may trigger tax liabilities that users are solely responsible for.

Coinbase ceased BSV trading on its platform in August 2021 after the protocol suffered a 51% attack, resulting in three separate BSV blockchains being mined simultaneously. While trading was halted, Coinbase still allowed users to hold Bitcoin SV funds in their exchange wallets. However, this latest announcement takes their delisting one step further by removing all support for the token.

Coinbase’s complete removal of support for Bitcoin SV comes as its founder, Craig Wright, continues his controversial legal efforts to prove he is Satoshi Nakamoto.

Craig Wright Controversy

Craig Wright has gained notoriety for aggressively pursuing lawsuits against those who doubt or challenge his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto. However, in his latest legal skirmish, the tables have turned. This time, Wright is the defendant in a case brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which seeks to prove that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

COPA contends that Wright is not Satoshi and that the documents he uses to validate this claim are forged. In a recent ruling, the UK High Court sided with COPA in allowing the entity to “plead forgery of a total of 50 additional documents.” However, the judge made clear Wright can defend their authenticity when the case proceeds to trial in January 2024.

On the Flipside

• CB delisted 80 trading pairs in October, suggesting the exchange is pursuing a general clear out of unpopular/thinly traded tokens.
• Dropping wallet support for BSV will have little impact on the token’s liquidity and exchange price discovery going forward.

Why This Matters

While Coinbase did not give a specific reason for ending Bitcoin SV support, the move underscores the ever-evolving nature of cryptocurrency exchanges and their listing policies.

Learn more about the Independent Reserve exchange delisting Bitcoin SV here:
Australia’s Largest Exchange to Delist Bitcoin SV (BSV) Over ‘Bullying’ Threat to Bitcoin Developers

Find out about Emurgo’s prediction for the Cardano blockchain here:
Emurgo Envisions Sleeping Giant Cardano to Wake by 2028