Bitcoin took a nosedive recently, thumping its lowest level in approximately 3 weeks. The number one cryptocurrency by market cap got double hit by the latest speculations in the cryptosphere.
During her confirmation hearing, United States President Joe Biden’s nominee for treasury secretary, Janet Yellen suggested that lawmakers curb the use of Bitcoin because of its usage in criminal goings-on.
Apart from that, a debunked report from BitMEX Research proposed that a perilous fault dubbed “double spend” had happened in the Bitcoin blockchain.
It is to be noted that double spend is when someone is able to spend the same BTC twice. It is a dreaded and awful situation for the virtual currency. The blockchain was believed to have unraveled the issue when Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper in 2009.
BitMEX Research tweeted, “It appears as if a small double spend of around 0.00062063 BTC ($21) was detected.”
Later, BitMEX mentioned that it seems that the double spend was actually an RBF transaction. It occurs when an unsubstantiated bitcoin transaction is substituted with a new transfer paying a higher fee. However, BitMEX’s Fork Monitor mentioned that “no (RBF) fee bumps have been detected.”
Apropos the issue, Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex commented:
“Cryptocurrencies seem to have retreated today amid unsubstantiated speculation that a ‘double spend’ had occurred on the Bitcoin blockchain. In fact, what happened is that two blocks were mined simultaneously. As a consequence, there was a chain reorganization, which did not result in double spending. Those looking with glee at the sea of red across cryptocurrency markets today will come to realise to their peril that a long-term bet against bitcoin will be a losing one.”
In the meantime, institutional investors seem to continue gaining exposure to BTC. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin is changing hands just above 33,2000 USD a pop, as per coinmarketcap.
What do you think about the possibility and the impact of double spend problem in the Bitcoin blockchain? Let us know in the comments below!
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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