TL;DR: A heavily censored popular subreddit blasted the headline, “Thailand’s SEC Approves Bitcoin, Bans Bitcoin Cash,” dutifully posting to Twitter, sending news all over the cryptosphere. In truth, the country’s securities and exchange commission (SEC) updated its list of cryptocurrencies eligible for initial coin offering (ICO) investment and base trading pairs, a pretty important distinction and yet another reason to distrust r/bitcoin.

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Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Wasn’t Banned in Thailand

Thursday, 28 February 2019, the SEC of Thailand issued a news release, “SEC updates list of cryptocurrencies eligible for investment in ICOs and base trading pairs.” In it, the regulator indeed “updated the list of cryptocurrencies eligible for initial coin offering (ICO) investment or value comparison as base trading pair against other digital assets traded on digital asset exchanges.”

Stressing they were not to be considered legal tender, “the current list comprises four cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM),” the SEC detailed. They’re to be ‘allowed’ as part of a base trading pairs list against digital tokens through ICOs. “Key factors taken into consideration regarding the cryptocurrencies on the list include relevant developments and news, as well as other important factors related to cryptocurrencies. The list will be updated periodically,” the regulator stressed.

As almost an afterthought, the SEC noted, “Also, three other cryptocurrencies have been removed from the list, namely (1) Bitcoin Cash (BCH), (2) Ethereum Classic (ETC) and (3) Litecoin (LTC),” underlining how “so far no ICO has been launched and the operating digital asset exchanges have never used BCH, ETC or LTC as base trading pairs,” hardly a ban or rebuke of the kind the r/bitcoin subreddit implied.

A Bit Misleading and Clickbait

To their credit, many otherwise anti-BCH commenters openly tired at the continued antics of longtime propagandist u/bitsteiner, the originator of the post. As one response jeered, “So it seems like they’ve not actually banned BCH, just clarified they won’t allow it to be used for ICO’s which considering the number of scam ICO’s may not be a bad thing.

It also states that this news does not endorse any one coin as being legitimate and legal tender. Makes the posts title a bit misleading and clickbait.”

Another raged, “why is shit like this upvoted are people blind to their own bias. Oh title humiliates bcash must upvote click bait,” while yet still more chided, “OP made up their own title. You see that all the time [….] Of course it doesn’t help that the average Redditor has a 6th grade reading level so they only upvote titles, not articles.”

Disagreements are welcome on other subreddits, where debates about stores of value and digital gold compete against mediums of exchange and digital cash. Some enthusiasts want ginormous block sizes, now, while still others wish to squish them almost entirely. Open talk about who is a better representative for crypto, development teams, decentralization are all game for respectful challenges. The subreddit r/bitcoin, however, is not that place, and is a main reason why so many bitcoiners have flocked to other forums out of disgust.

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