Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency designed to fulfill Bitcoin's original vision of enabling peer-to-peer payments for daily transactions. Unlike Bitcoin (BTC), which evolved into a store of value, BCH prioritizes scalability, speed, and low fees, making it ideal for everyday use.
What Is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash emerged from a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain on August 1, 2017, addressing Bitcoin’s scalability issues. Key features:
- Larger Block Size: BCH started with an 8 MB block (expanded to 32 MB in 2018), reducing congestion and fees.
- Fast Transactions: Near-instant settlements with minimal fees.
- Decentralized Payments: No intermediaries, aligning with Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper.
How Bitcoin Cash Works
BCH operates similarly to Bitcoin but with critical upgrades:
- Proof of Work (PoW): Uses SHA-256 hashing (like BTC).
- Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment: Recalibrates every 10 minutes (vs. BTC’s 2,016 blocks) to stabilize mining.
- Smart Contracts & DApps: Supports decentralized apps (e.g., CashFusion, Flipstarter) via its blockchain.
SmartBCH Sidechain: Launched in 2021, this EVM-compatible sidechain enables Ethereum-like DApps with BCH as the native gas token.
Bitcoin Cash Tokenomics
- Max Supply: 21 million BCH (19.17M in circulation).
- Halving: Rewards halve every 210,000 blocks (~4 years). Next halving: 2024 (3.125 BCH/block).
- Distribution: Initial 1:1 airdrop to BTC holders.
Key Developments
- 2018 Hard Fork: Split into BCH and Bitcoin SV (BSV) (128 MB blocks).
- 2020: Tether (USDT) launched on BCH via SLP token standard.
Founders & History
BCH was created by Bitcoin ecosystem dissenters, including:
- Roger Ver ("Bitcoin Jesus")
- Amaury Sechet (Bitcoin ABC lead)
- Bitmain & ViaBTC (mining pools)
Their goal: Increase block size after SegWit2x debates stalled.
FAQs
1. Is Bitcoin Cash better than Bitcoin?
BCH excels in transaction speed/cost but lacks BTC’s store-of-value dominance.
2. Where can I spend BCH?
Twitch, Newegg, Namecheap, and 1,000+ merchants globally.
3. How do I store BCH?
Use non-custodial wallets like OKX Web3 Wallet.
Conclusion
Bitcoin Cash remains a strong contender for scalable, low-cost crypto payments. Its active development and merchant adoption reinforce its utility. For real-time BCH price tracking, visit OKX Markets.
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