Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency payment network designed to fulfill Bitcoin's core vision—facilitating seamless peer-to-peer payments. Unlike Bitcoin, which faces scalability challenges, BCH offers faster transactions and lower fees, making it ideal for everyday use.
How Bitcoin Cash Works
Key Features:
- Larger Block Size: BCH initially launched with an 8 MB block size, later expanded to 32 MB, enabling higher throughput.
- Low Transaction Fees: Average fees remain below $0.01, ensuring cost-effective transfers.
- Proof-of-Work (PoW): Uses SHA-256 hashing, similar to Bitcoin, but with more frequent difficulty adjustments (every 10 minutes).
Smart Contracts and DApps:
BCH supports decentralized applications (DApps) like CashFusion and Flipstarter. Its sidechain, SmartBCH, integrates Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, enabling Web3 development.
BCH Price and Economic Model
- Max Supply: 21 million BCH (mirroring Bitcoin’s scarcity).
- Circulating Supply: ~19.17 million BCH (as of 2025).
- Halving Events: Rewards halve every 210,000 blocks (e.g., 6.25 BCH/block currently; next halving in 2024).
Adoption:
Major platforms accepting BCH include Twitch, Newegg, and eGifter.
History and Key Milestones
- 2017 Fork: Created from Bitcoin due to disagreements over block size.
- 2018 Split: Resulted in Bitcoin SV (BSV) after debates on scaling to 128 MB blocks.
- 2020: Tether (USDT) launched on BCH via Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP).
Founders and Development
Prominent figures like Roger Ver and Bitmain advocated for BCH’s creation to prioritize scalability. The decentralized team continues to refine its utility as "electronic cash."
FAQ
1. How is Bitcoin Cash different from Bitcoin?
BCH offers larger blocks (32 MB vs. Bitcoin’s 1 MB), lower fees, and faster transactions.
2. What is SmartBCH?
A BCH sidechain enabling EVM-compatible smart contracts and DApps.
3. When is the next BCH halving?
Expected in 2024, reducing block rewards to 3.125 BCH.
4. Who accepts Bitcoin Cash?
Newegg, Twitch, and CyberGhost VPN are among notable merchants.