Bitcoin is surging higher as Bitcoin Cash (BCC) futures value crashes 50 percent prior to its proposed Aug. 1 activation date.
Data from ViaBTC shows the Bitcoin fork, which does not yet exist, fell from around 0.15 BTC to 0.08 BTC per coin in the last 24 hours.
A correction has since got underway to 0.109 BTC, still around a 27 percent daily loss.
Reacting to the figures, highlighted by entrepreneur and investor Alistair Milne, commentators on Twitter were quick to determine it was the project’s fate.
ViaBTC's Bitcoin Cash futures are crashing in value ... 1 $BCC now worth 0.08BTC (down ~50%) pic.twitter.com/AXT7AK3Wua
— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) July 28, 2017
However, official angles on BCC have been more nuanced. Exchanges have either come out with statements of support or have adopted a hands-off method, suggesting possible but not guaranteed interaction with BCC at a later date.
Yesterday, the European exchange HitBTC announced it would join ViaBTC in offering futures trading for the fork, prior to crediting customer accounts with coins on both forks.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price continues to move higher, passing $2,700 to reach a 24-hour high of $2,742, according to averaged exchange data from Coinmarketcap.
By contrast, Ethereum (ETH) remained stagnant, hovering just above the $200 mark, and other coins in the top 10 cryptocurrencies saw only modest movement.