Bitcoin Cash
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What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a hard fork of Bitcoin executed in August 2017, born from the debate over the scalability of the original network. Its proponents advocated for larger blocks to allow more transactions per second and lower fees. It keeps the maximum supply of 21 million, the SHA-256 algorithm and the four-year halving.
How it works
Bitcoin Cash runs on a Proof of Work blockchain with the same SHA-256 algorithm as Bitcoin (which in some cases allows joint mining) and a fixed maximum supply of 21 million units with a four-year halving. The key technical difference is the maximum block size: 8 MB initially, expanded to 32 MB after later upgrades, versus Bitcoin's effective 1 MB. This allows more transactions per block at lower fees. The BCH chain also went through a second fork in 2018 with the creation of Bitcoin SV.
Use cases
BCH has positioned itself as electronic cash for everyday payments according to the original vision of Satoshi's white paper: fast and cheap transactions to merchants, remittances in emerging markets, micropayments. Payment platforms such as BitPay and thousands of online merchants accept BCH. Adoption is notable in some Latin American and Asian corridors. The Lightning Network layer is not used on BCH; transactions are processed directly on-chain with large blocks.
Position relative to Bitcoin
BCH is the main philosophical alternative to Bitcoin among the early forks. The majority Bitcoin community opted for the SegWit and Lightning Network solution to scale; BCH chose the large on-chain block path. Today BCH retains a significant market cap but a notably smaller ecosystem than Bitcoin's. Its supporters argue that the BCH vision is more faithful to the original white paper; its critics maintain that it sacrifices decentralization (large blocks are more expensive to validate) for transaction speed that is not competitive with stablecoins on other networks.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a hard fork of Bitcoin executed in August 2017, born from the debate over the scalability of the original network. Its proponents advocated increasing the maximum block size (from 1 MB to 8 MB initially, later expanded to 32 MB) to allow more transactions per second and lower fees. It shares the SHA-256 algorithm and the 21 million maximum supply with Bitcoin.
What is the difference between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin?
The key technical difference is block size: BCH uses up to 32 MB, Bitcoin keeps an effective 1 MB (with SegWit) and scales via the Lightning Network. BCH processes more transactions per block at lower fees, but large blocks are more expensive to validate and store, which reduces decentralization. Bitcoin prioritized decentralization and a layer-2 solution; BCH prioritized on-chain speed.
Is Bitcoin Cash the real Bitcoin?
BCH and BTC have been independent chains since August 2017. The majority Bitcoin community (miners, nodes, developers, exchanges) has continued to recognize BTC as the original Bitcoin; BCH is a hard fork with its own community. BCH supporters argue that its vision is more faithful to the white paper; critics point out that BCH's decentralization is lower because of the large blocks.
What is Bitcoin Cash used for?
BCH is used mainly as a means of payment to merchants, especially in Latin American and Asian markets where its low fees (cents) are competitive against Bitcoin or cards. Platforms such as BitPay and thousands of online merchants accept it. It is also used for small remittances and micropayments. The Lightning Network layer is not used on BCH; transactions are processed directly on-chain.
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