Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is currently valued at $574.84, marking a 9.06% surge over the past 24 hours, just ahead of its second-ever halving event slated for next week.

Ahead of the BCH halving on April 4, traders are actively fortifying their positions, evident from the data provided by NiceHash. On March 28, there were liquidations totaling $190,140 in short positions and $211,870 in long positions.

Simultaneously, open interest (OI) in Bitcoin Cash futures perpetual contracts has soared to a record high of $708.75 million. This surge of 18.26% within 24 hours and a staggering 165% over the past 7 days, as reported by CoinGlass data, is reminiscent of May 2021 when OI peaked at $684.12 million, coinciding with BCH reaching its highest price in five years at $1,399.

In contrast, on the same date in 2020, prior to the first-ever BCH halving on April 8, futures open interest stood at a mere $63.29. Despite the impending halving, miners are ramping up their efforts, with reports indicating a doubling of the Bitcoin Cash hash rate over the past week.

However, while Bitcoin prepares for its fourth halving on April 21 amidst record highs, Bitcoin Cash lags significantly behind its peak of $4,355, achieved in December 2017, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Notably, BCH experiences its halving slightly earlier than Bitcoin due to a temporary adjustment in its mining difficulty algorithm back in 2017, resulting in a faster block creation time.