Bitcoin SV is led by Craig Steven Wright, an Australian computer scientist who has claimed since 2015 to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Wright is backed by Calvin Ayre, a Canadian billionaire and gambling entrepreneur who has funded the nChain blockchain research firm where Wright serves as chief scientist. Ayre's financial support has been instrumental in BSV's development and promotion, though his departure from social media following the 2024 High Court ruling has further isolated the project.

Bitcoin SV's history is marked by controversy and setbacks. In November 2018, it forked from Bitcoin Cash over a block size dispute, with BSV pushing for 128MB blocks versus BCH's 32MB. In April 2019, a public feud between Wright supporters and detractors led Binance to delist BSV, severely impacting its liquidity. Multiple 51% attacks occurred between June and August 2021, with one lasting over 3 hours and enabling double-spend attempts. Most significantly, in March 2024, the UK High Court ruled that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, dealt a major blow to the project's credibility.

Bitcoin SV operates on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism identical to the original Bitcoin protocol. Its defining technical feature is an exceptionally large block size limit of 128MB, far exceeding Bitcoin's 1MB and Bitcoin Cash's 32MB, enabling higher transaction throughput. The BSV Association has developed the Teranode protocol to pursue million-transactions-per-second capacity using parallel processing and AWS infrastructure. The network maintains a 10-minute block time and recently halved its block reward to 3.125 BSV per block, following Bitcoin's predetermined halving schedule.

Bitcoin SV adheres to a strict 21 million token supply cap identical to original Bitcoin, making it deflationary by design. The block reward started at 50 BSV in 2018 and has undergone halvings, currently at 3.125 BSV per block after the 2024 halving event. Transaction fees on the BSV network are extremely low, often fractions of a cent, supporting the project's vision for micropayments and high-volume enterprise use cases. However, the token's price has declined approximately 76% from its all-time high, raising questions about long-term tokenomics sustainability.

Bitcoin SV's governance has been plagued by centralization concerns and legitimacy disputes. The project's credibility rests heavily on Craig Wright's contested claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, which the UK High Court definitively rejected in March 2024, finding Wright had acted dishonestly. The concentration of mining power and development control within nChain creates significant decentralization concerns. Calvin Ayre's departure from public-facing roles after the court ruling has further weakened governance structures. BSV investors have pursued a multi-billion pound lawsuit against Binance over its 2019 delisting, seeking to hold exchanges accountable for what they claim was coordinated market manipulation.

Bitcoin SV markets itself as an enterprise-focused blockchain suitable for micropayments, supply chain tracking, and large-scale data applications. Its large block size enables storage of substantial data on-chain, theoretically supporting applications like medical records, legal document verification, and Internet of Things data streams. Companies associated with the BSV ecosystem have explored micropayment models for digital infrastructure and pay-per-use services. Despite these ambitions, adoption remains limited compared to competing smart contract platforms, with many enterprise projects failing to gain meaningful traction after initial announcements.