Research conducted by the investment arm of cryptocurrency exchange BitMex found that while the transaction volumes of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and SegWit (Segregated Witness) are “reasonably similar,” Bitcoin Cash is seemingly lagging behind SegWit in the adoption race.
BitMex’s researchers found that SegWit has 20.1 percent more cumulative transaction volume than Bitcoin Cash. The number may be bolstered by SegWit supporters, the company notes, as they could claim Bitcoin Cash had a one-month head start. Adjusting for it, SegWit has 31.5 percent more cumulative transaction volume than BCH.
According to data it collected, Bitcoin Cash saw a significant spike in transaction volumes right after it was launched back in August 2017, while SegWit transaction started growing gradually, but ended up surpassing Bitcoin Cash.
This, researchers noted, may be “related to the investment flows and excitement of the new Bitcoin Cash coin, which may have driven short term adoption.” The turning point was October 31, 2017 – three months after Bitcoin Cash was launched.
Since then, SegWit has managed to stay ahead. Granted, the researchers point out the figures could easily be manipulated. BitMex’s piece reads:
“Although the data suggests that SegWit transaction have been adopted slightly faster than Bitcoin Cash, resulting in more transaction volume, Bitcoin Cash advocates could argue that the Bitcoin Cash token is more about a philosophy of larger capacity in the long term, rather than the speed of the actual increase in transaction volume in the short term. Therefore Bitcoin Cash supporters can still claim that Bitcoin Cash will eventually have more transaction volume than Bitcoin, once adoption of the coin increases.”
BitMex Research further pointed out that SegWit adoption has been steadily growing since August 2017 and is “perhaps increasing in steps as large corporate entities switch to SegWit.” Last month, popular cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and Bitfinex adopted the technology, improving the network’s efficiency.
Researchers further note that SegWit has begun to meaningfully impact bitcoin’s network, as it is “potentially reducing fees and benefiting even users who choose not to upgrade to the new transaction format.” Not only that, but SegWit also allows for second-layer technologies, such as the Lightning Network, which recently became a reality.
BitMex’s report shows that, since bitcoin Cash was launched, 6.1 million SegWit transactions occurred, against 4.88 million Bitcoin Cash transactions. Nevertheless, it concludes that adoption of both SegWit and Bitcoin Cash has been “reasonably slow.”
