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The viability of Bitcoin Cash, a spinoff from bitcoin that launched Tuesday, appears to be cemented, as the price surged Wednesday to make it the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Despite an initial slow start as some experts questioned whether the time it takes to mine Bitcoin Cash may limit its potential, bitcoin miners and investors have instead flooded into Bitcoin Cash, or BCH for short. Its price hit a high of $1,470 at one stage before settling back to trade at $848.69 as of 10:20 p.m. EDT Wednesday. According to CoinGecko, that gives Bitcoin Cash a staggering market cap of nearly $14 billion, placing it behind bitcoin at $44.9 billion and Ethereum at $20.9 billion.

The price of bitcoin itself does not seem to have been affected by the rise of Bitcoin Cash, with the father of all cryptocurrencies currently trading at $2712.74, roughly the same price it was 24 hours ago.

The unexpected surge of interest and subsequent price rise of Bitcoin Cash is putting pressure on bitcoin exchanges and bitcoin wallet providers that previously said that they would not support the spinoff “altcoin.”

Fortune claimed that Coinbase Inc., the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, may be facing legal action because its decision not tp issue Bitcoin Cash “means the millions of people who maintain a wallet on Coinbase did not receive the new ‘Cash’ and, as of now, there is no way for them to do so.”

The report cited several groups that are apparently planning legal action if Coinbase doesn’t come to the party, including a “Coinbase Bitcoin Cash Lawsuit Portal” that is starting with a petition to force Coinbase to support Bitcoin Cash but adds that “Coinbase needs to understand that the community is ready and willing to pursue legal action if their BCH tokens continue to be withheld by Coinbase Inc., resulting in tangible and significant financial loss.”

An attorney named Priyanka Ghosh-Murthy told the publication that she intends to file a complaint — invoking negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment — in Florida by the end of the week.

The important consideration here is that Bitcoin Cash offers existing bitcoin holders 1 BCH for every 1 BTC they hold, not as a swap but as a free issue. Any exchange now withholding the issue of Bitcoin Cash is potentially denying its customers not only access to the rapidly growing cryptocurrency but potentially millions in profits should the price of BCH continue to remain as high as it does.

When there’s millions, possibly even billions on the table, taking legal action may be a cheap investment given far larger rewards available should the litigants be successful.

Update Aug. 3:  Coinbase has now said that it will start supporting Bitcoin Cash Jan. 1, 2018.

Disclosure: Riley has bitcoin holdings and is a customer of Bx.in.th. He currently holds a small amount of bitcoin (worth $32.70 at the time of writing) to better understand the cryptocurrency for SiliconANGLE.

Photo: btckeychain/Flickr