CNBC’s Fast Money hosts and panel were on the defensive during a recent broadcast, as some viewers accused the network of shilling for bitcoin cash (BCH). And, truth be told, CNBC has been showing the decentralized cryptocurrency an inordinate amount of love lately. A segment by a popular analyst, where he forecasts even bigger things for BCH, only added fuel to some trolls’ fire. Chairman Mow is not amused.
Also read: Roger Ver and Ryan X. Charles Reveal the Future of Cash
CNBC Predicts Bitcoin Cash to Moon, and Soon
Wednesday in the US is known colloquially as Hump Day, the point at which the weekend seems closer. It’s also the day more and more cryptocurrency enthusiasts are tuning in to CNBC’s Fast Money program, a self described “post-market show,” hosted by Melissa Lee with contributions from well regarded traders.
Trader Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of BKCM LLC, was asked to detail just why it is he’s so bullish on bitcoin cash. In introducing his plasma-fronted segment, Ms. Lee read what appears to be a month-long trend, describing bitcoin cash as having “vanquished” the likes of bitcoin core (BTC), down 5%, litecoin down 9%, and ripple down 21% while BCH remained positive at 6% price growth.
Mr. Kelly asked viewers to simply look at what he refers to as catalyst factors, aspects of a digital asset, no matter what the asset, that might have caused it to gain traction in price going forward. In the case of bitcoin cash, Mr. Kelly cheered the latest development among its mining community to pool portions of rewards toward building a fund for future development. He compared it to an app store where devs pile on uses for a smartphone previously unthought of or dreamed of but not implemented. BCH, he insisted, wasn’t the only project to do something like this, and he even managed to sandwich in the word “potentially” when describing price prospects.
He also equated more on-chain development with potential use cases, and use cases, then, with, well, usability and appeal to more people in the eventual hope of more adoption. Curiously he described the mining community’s latest move as a kind of cartelization, though benevolent, words and phrases that immediately rile most cryptocurrency enthusiasts. He acknowledged it, however, as a potential negative.
Let the Market Decide
Ultimately it all comes down to the market, Mr. Kelly noted. He turned to charting, where over the past year or so BCH has followed the broader crypto market with incredible highs back in late 2017, a precipitous drop in 2018, and a recent stabilization if not slight uptick. Drawing a horizontal line across the screen, Mr. Kelly described bitcoin cash as mostly holding support levels for the moment, a good sign. He called his squibbles and markings “a good looking chart” and a “place I want to buy.”
Ms. Lee then peppered Mr. Kelly with questions from viewers. Asked if he was in to bitcoin cash for the long term, he turned diplomatic. He reminded viewers he was a trader, moving in and out of positions quickly. He wants to invest in the coin that eventually becomes the global currency, living up to crypto hype. For now, Mr. Kelly said, bitcoin core (BTC) has a massive network effect advantage, but that could change.
Yet another viewer asked if Mr. Kelly had ever actually used BCH to buy something, and if not then what is its use? Mr. Kelly said he had not used bitcoin cash, but that his interest is only in its speculative value. He did say he’d used bitcoin core to buy things and to send money, and so he understands its ultimate power. The final question in the segment got Mr. Kelly laughing, as a person asked if he was indeed Roger Ver. When Ms. Lee effectively ended the spot, she was keen to emphasize CNBC and her program take exactly no money to promote anything on the show, and how no one has any connection to BCH beyond an investment.
The strangest reaction by far came from BTC ambassador Samson Mow. Mr. Mow’s personality in the debate between BTC and BCH is often dismissive, above-it-all. He knows, you don’t, and you simply need to get in line. Humorless. Uncharitable. Superior. That’s all excusable, and there’s always been such an element in tech (the more obnoxious sort tend to come from Silicon Valley), but his reaction to the CNBC segment described above places him in rarified air. With a picture of a shadowy figure behind bars, Chairman Mow typed, “Collecting some gems for @SEC_Enforcement @SEC_News to take a closer look at @CNBCFastMoney @CNBC pumping and dumping altcoins on their viewers. Enough is enough. If you have more tweets, post below and I’ll add them to the Moment.” That’s right, a lower-level crypto spokesperson is advocating use of jail to punish opinions different from his. Yikes.
Trader sees bitcoin cash breaking out, here’s why from CNBC.
Are you excited about BCH adoption and innovation? Let us know what you think of this subject in the comments below.
Images via Pixabay, CNBC
Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today.