The cryptocurrency market faced significant turbulence during the week of November 12–18, 2018, as Bitcoin Cash (BCH) underwent a highly anticipated hard fork. The event triggered widespread volatility, investor uncertainty, and a sharp decline in total market capitalization—dropping to its lowest point of the year. This comprehensive recap explores the market dynamics, technological developments, regulatory updates, and key industry movements that defined the week.
📉 Market Overview: A Week of Sharp Declines
According to ChainDD Intelligence data, as of noon on November 18, 2018, there were 2,081 active cryptocurrencies globally. The total market capitalization stood at $185.3 billion**, down nearly **$27.2 billion (12.78%) from the previous week—largely driven by the BCH hard fork.
The ChainDD Index (DDCI), which tracks performance across the top 50 exchanges and digital assets, dropped to 716.92, reflecting a 13% weekly decline. A dramatic plunge occurred on November 14, when the index fell from 820 to around 710 within 24 hours.
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Major Cryptocurrency Price Movements:
- Bitcoin (BTC): Fell from $6,463 to $5,604 (–12.38%), briefly dropping below $5,400—the lowest since October 2017.
- Ethereum (ETH): Dropped to $176.19 (–16.69%).
- EOS: Traded at $4.63 (–13.94%).
- Litecoin (LTC): Slid to $42.57 (–17.92%).
Bitcoin Cash (BCH): Plunged 28.1%, with prices diverging across exchanges post-fork:
- BCHABC (Binance): $288.85
- BCHSV (Binance): $108.91
The top 30 cryptocurrencies accounted for 92.32% of total market cap ($171.1 billion), with Bitcoin leading at **$97.4 billion (52.56%)**.
🔀 The BCH Hard Fork: ABC vs. SV
The most pivotal event of the week was the Bitcoin Cash hard fork, splitting the network into two chains:
- Bitcoin Cash ABC (Adjustable Blocksize Cap) – Supported by Bitmain and mining pools like Antpool.
- Bitcoin Cash SV (Satoshi Vision) – Backed by Craig Wright and Calvin Ayre’s nChain.
PeckShield confirmed the split at block height 556,767 on November 16. Both chains mined their respective blocks simultaneously, marking a definitive divergence.
Exchange Support for Forked Coins:
Among the top 10 exchanges by volume:
- 40% supported both BCHABC and BCHSV: Binance, Bitfinex, Bibox, IDAX.
- Partial support: Huobi and LBank continued trading only unified BCH.
- Suspensions: OKEx, DigiFinex, CoinBene, and ZB.COM paused BCH-related trading.
Market sentiment turned bearish ahead of the fork. On Bitfinex, short positions outnumbered longs nearly 2:1, signaling widespread anticipation of price drops post-split.
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🏦 Top 30 Cryptocurrencies: Market Share & Sector Breakdown
The top 30 digital assets dominated the ecosystem, representing over 92% of total market value. Sector distribution revealed:
- Public Blockchains: 30.00%
- Base Currencies (e.g., BTC, ETH): 23.33%
- Forked Coins: 13.33%
Newcomer Basic Attention Token (BAT) entered the top 30, replacing Zilliqa in market cap rankings.
🌐 Blockchain Adoption in Government & Enterprise
Despite market downturns, real-world blockchain adoption accelerated globally:
✅ Singapore: Successful DvP Settlement Test
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) completed a blockchain-based tokenized asset settlement trial using a DvP (Delivery vs Payment) prototype developed with Deloitte and Nasdaq.
"Our method enables real-world interoperability and synchronized trading of digital tokens and securities."
— Tinku Gupta, SGX Technology Lead
✅ Austria: Blockchain for Cancer Detection
The Austrian government is funding Lancor Scientific, a UK-based firm using blockchain to securely record cancer screening results with a target accuracy of 90%.
✅ Spain: Public Blockchain Network Tender
The city of Bilbao launched a $171,000 tender to build a public blockchain network interoperable with Spain’s EJIE digital platform, aiming to improve data security and inter-agency transparency.
✅ Japan: Marine Insurance on Blockchain
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance successfully tested blockchain for marine cargo insurance claims with NTT DATA—targeting commercial rollout in 2019.
✅ China: First Blockchain Real Estate Certificate
Loudi City issued China’s first blockchain-based property certificate, enabling seamless verification across government departments without physical visits.
🏛 Regulatory Developments Worldwide
Regulatory scrutiny intensified across multiple jurisdictions:
| Country | Development |
|---|---|
| France | AMF received 2,261 investor inquiries about crypto assets in Jan–Oct 2018; most involved fraud related to cryptocurrencies (not ICOs). |
| USA | SEC released annual enforcement report highlighting a surge in ICO investigations—30 mentions in 2018 vs. just 4 in 2017. Two firms (Airfox, Paragon) paid $250K fines each for unregistered token sales. |
| Poland | Proposed new tax rules: 19% income tax on crypto-to-fiat or crypto-to-goods transactions; crypto-to-crypto trades exempt. |
| Russia (Crimea) | Considered establishing a blockchain cluster to enable anonymous foreign investment—potentially circumventing international sanctions. |
| Japan | Financial Services Agency held a trilateral meeting with police and consumer affairs agencies to coordinate crypto exchange oversight. |
💡 Industry Innovations & Institutional Moves
🔹 Ant Financial’s Blockchain Breakthrough
Ant Financial deployed blockchain across 150 million cross-border items during Alibaba’s 2018 Singles’ Day sale—covering diamonds, milk powder, and茅台 liquor—with full traceability via Alipay and Taobao.
🔹 JPMorgan’s IIN Goes Live
JPMorgan’s Interbank Information Network (IIN), built on Quorum blockchain, began scaling after successful tests. With over 100 banks onboard, it aims to streamline cross-border payments and reduce friction in correspondent banking.
🔹 Xerox & Amazon Secure Blockchain Patents
- Xerox patented a blockchain system to track document revisions—applicable in healthcare and legal sectors.
- Amazon obtained two patents: one for secure digital signatures using Merkle trees; another for distributed data storage optimization.
🔹 KPMG Partners with BiTA
KPMG joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) to help standardize blockchain use in logistics—targeting warehouse management and supply chain transparency.
🚨 Security & Market Warnings
- ETH Gas Attack Alert: SlowMist identified a vulnerability where sending ETH to smart contracts without setting a gas limit could lead to malicious gas consumption.
- Tokyo Police Bust $68M Crypto Scam: Eight individuals were arrested for defrauding 6,000 investors through fake monthly return promises (3–20%).
- Misinformation Alert: A viral tweet claiming Wu Jihan would “fight” Craig Wright was debunked—Wu hadn’t posted it; officials confirmed impersonation attempts.
📚 Education & Talent Development
- Peking University: Launched a three-day executive course on blockchain applications featuring姚前 (Yao Qian), 刘晓蕾 (Liu Xiaolei), and 吴忌寒 (Wu Jihan).
- Wenzhou, China: Aims to establish 2–3 blockchain industrial hubs by 2022, including a local research institute and investment fund.
- Hainan Province: Plans to grow its internet sector into a "billion-dollar industry," with blockchain as a strategic focus.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What caused the crypto market crash in mid-November 2018?
A: The primary catalyst was the Bitcoin Cash hard fork between ABC and SV factions, which created uncertainty, increased selling pressure, and led to investor exits across major assets including BTC and ETH.
Q: How did exchanges handle the BCH fork?
A: While some platforms like Binance supported both chains, others like OKEx suspended trading temporarily to manage technical risks and ensure fair distribution of forked tokens.
Q: Is blockchain being adopted beyond speculation?
A: Yes—governments and enterprises are actively deploying blockchain for supply chain tracking, secure document management, cross-border payments, and public services like land registration.
Q: What’s the difference between BCHABC and BCHSV?
A: BCHABC supports dynamic difficulty adjustment and smart contract development; BCHSV aims to restore Bitcoin’s original protocol vision with larger blocks (up to 128MB) and minimal changes.
Q: Are regulators cracking down on crypto?
A: Many countries are enhancing oversight—not banning crypto outright. Licensing regimes (e.g., in Estonia, New York) are emerging to ensure compliance while allowing innovation.
Q: Was the SEC active in crypto enforcement?
A: Yes—the SEC significantly increased ICO investigations in 2018 and took enforcement actions against unregistered offerings, marking a shift toward stricter compliance demands.
🔑 Core Keywords
- Bitcoin Cash hard fork
- cryptocurrency market crash
- blockchain adoption
- crypto regulation
- BCHABC vs BCHSV
- decentralized finance
- digital asset security
- institutional blockchain use
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