In an unexpected turn, Bitcoin SV proponent Alvin Yyers unites miners to protect Bitcoin Cash, as the coin is expected to plummet to new hash rate lows.

"Bitcoin Cash will be the first coin to reach block reward halving. Without us, the coin will be in trouble. We're here to defend it." Alvin tells NerdGeek in an exclusive interview.

Alvin emphasizes that Bitcoin Cash is not the real Bitcoin, not anymore.

Bitcoin Cash is Bitcoin Cash, it does not scale and does not follow the original white paper. It will eventually be dwarfed by the real Bitcoin, Bitcoin SV. For now it's a useful tool to help global adoption.

In return for protecting the chain, the cartel will receive protection money in the form of mere 12.5% of all coinbase rewards.

It's a small price to pay for chain protection. It will only last 6 months, while we wait for other coins to reach their block reward halving ..

Alvin looks surprised, as NerdGeek tells him that there is already a claim for 12.5% of the mining reward by a different mining cartel.

The Chinese have always been good at espionage and copying. But I never expected them to be so fast and efficient.

After some thinking, he concludes that it's not an issue. On the contrary, it makes his cartel even more important. With now claims on 25% of the block reward, the cartel protection is even more important.

There still remains 75% of the block reward to miners that solve the blocks. This still brings enough external hash power, that our two mining cartels combined can easily protect the chain.

NerdGeek reached out to Bitcoin SBC, the reference client of Bitcoin Cash. A spokesperson for the client had the following to say:

While we wait for all the sha256d coins to reach their reward halving, Bitcoin Cash will need all the reorg protection it can get. According to my calculations, with this arrangement, the BTC miners will take the most cost. The game theory is solid.

The genesis protocol upgrade will make history. We're making Bitcoin what Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned and still envisions today.