Internet entrepreneur Vinny Lingham predicted on Thursday that bitcoin cash — the offshoot of the popular cryptocurrency — will be in greater demand than actual bitcoin in the future.
“Bitcoin and bitcoin cash are focusing on two totally different markets right now,” said Lingham, who has been dubbed the “Bitcoin Oracle” for his spot-on predictions about bitcoin.
Lingham, who owns a range of crypto units, said bitcoin cash is most commonly used for fast payments. Meanwhile, bitcoin is the better choice for investing.
“When I look at it from the product standpoint, I think the greater demand is for peer-to-peer cash than for digital gold,” Lingham told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Thursday.
Lingham, who is the co-founder and CEO of Civic, an identity protection and management startup in San Francisco, added that investors should hold bitcoin and ethereum — but said now is a good time to buy bitcoin cash.
Bitcoin was priced just above $11,200 as the market closed on Thursday, a 45 percent dip from its December high of $19,500. Investors have sold off cryptocurrencies amid fears of an uncertain regulatory environment. and a breathtaking rally that has only recently begun to reverse.
Last August, developers split off from the original bitcoin to form bitcoin cash, in an attempt to improve the speed and costs of bitcoin transactions.
The U.S. has been slow to regulate the crypto market as the popularity of digital coin investments increases. Meanwhile, South Korea and China have already announced they are cracking down on cryptocurrencies.
