Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has decided to terminate its support for Bitcoin SV (BSV), a contentious cryptocurrency that emerged as a result of a hard fork from Bitcoin Cash.

This move follows a series of events, including BSV's controversial founder, Craig Wright, aggressively pursuing lawsuits to prove he is Satoshi Nakamoto, and a 51% attack that disrupted the BSV blockchain.

Coinbase's decision to end support for BSV is set to take effect on January 9, 2024, and will have significant implications for its users and the cryptocurrency itself.

Coinbase officially notified its users of the impending discontinuation of support for BSV. The exchange recommended that BSV holders withdraw their funds from Coinbase before January 9, 2024. Failure to do so will result in forced liquidation, with the funds being converted into another cryptocurrency of equivalent value and credited back to the affected users.

Coinbase had previously halted BSV trading on its platform in August 2021, following a 51% attack that disrupted the BSV blockchain by allowing three separate BSV blockchains to be mined simultaneously.

Although trading was suspended, Coinbase continued to allow users to retain their BSV funds in exchange wallets. However, the recent announcement signifies a more comprehensive delisting, as all support for the token will be withdrawn.

Craig Wright's Controversy

The decision to end support for BSV comes at a time when Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, continues his legal efforts to prove his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto.

Wright has been involved in numerous high-profile court cases due to his claims of being the original creator of Bitcoin. However, in a surprising turn of events, Wright now finds himself as the defendant in a case brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), an entity seeking to disprove his claims.

COPA contends that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto and alleges that the documents he has presented to support his claim are forged. In a recent ruling, the UK High Court sided with COPA, allowing them to "plead forgery of a total of 50 additional documents." However, the judge has also stated that Wright will have the opportunity to defend the authenticity of these documents when the case proceeds to trial in January 2024.

The ongoing legal battle has added further complexity to the contentious reputation of Bitcoin SV, as it is intertwined with the identity and credibility of its most prominent advocate, Craig Wright.

Bitcoin SV

Bitcoin SV has been a contentious cryptocurrency since its inception in November 2018. It emerged from a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash, which itself was a spin-off of the original Bitcoin.

In the context of blockchain technology, a hard fork is a substantial alteration to a network's protocol that renders blocks and transactions valid, which were previously considered invalid, or vice versa. This type of fork mandates that all nodes or users upgrade to the most recent version of the protocol software.

These forks can be instigated by developers or members of a cryptocurrency community who become discontented with the features provided by current blockchain implementations. Alternatively, they can emerge as a means to collect funding for new technological projects or cryptocurrency ventures.

Bitcoin SV gained notoriety, in part, due to its primary advocate, Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.

Craig Wright in an interview with Coinlive stating that he launched Bitcoin in 2009

Supporters of BSV often refer to it as "the original Bitcoin," but it remains a divisive cryptocurrency and has been delisted from several major exchanges. The 51% attack on the BSV blockchain in 2021 further damaged its reputation, leading to Coinbase's decision to halt BSV trading.

As of now, BSV ranks 53rd among digital assets with a market capitalization of $967 million. Coinbase's move to end support for BSV is likely to have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency's liquidity and exchange price discovery going forward.