Today, Bitmain-owned mining pool AntPool announced that they are now burning 12% of their BCH transaction fees:
Their official announcement doesnât really indicate why theyâre undergoing such a drastic measure; instead, theyâve opted to give us a largely incomprehensible statement about the âforthcoming wave of innovationâ for Bitcoin Cash.
So whatâs going on hereâââwhy is AntPool reducing the total supply of BCH?
The Optimist
This is a massive signal of confidence by one of Bitcoin Cashâs biggest mining pools. By burning their tokens, AntPool is demonstrating its belief in Bitcoin Cashâs long-term viability. This should in turn improve overall BCH investor confidence as well.
The Pessimist
This is a desperate move to pump the price and shows that there is little organic demand for BCH. By burning some of their coins, AntPool is signaling that market demand for BCH is clearly not enough to meet its supply.
The Realist
Before we get ahead of ourselves, letâs quickly crunch the numbers on how much money weâre talking about here. Here are the latest 24-hour mining stats for BCH:
(Source: bch.btc.com)
So, (15 blocks mined)*(.00609139 avg. tx fees per block)*(12% burn)*($1070 market price of BCH) means that AntPool has only burned $11.84 worth of BCH in the past 24 hours! Ultimately, this nothing more than a token signal of strength for Bitcoin Cash.
All things considered, Iâm not sure thereâs as much of a story here is we originally thought.
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