What is bitcoin-cash?

Introduction

If you’re asking what is bitcoin-cash and how it fits into the broader cryptocurrency landscape, you’re in the right place. Bitcoin-cash (BCH) is a peer-to-peer digital cash system that emerged in 2017 from a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain, with the explicit goal of enabling low-fee, fast payments at scale. While it shares much of Bitcoin’s original codebase and monetary policy, bitcoin-cash (BCH) diverges in block size, several consensus and validation rules, and more recent programmability upgrades.

At its core, bitcoin-cash (BCH) is a Layer 1 blockchain designed for everyday transactions, relying on the UTXO model, Bitcoin Script, and Proof of Work mining with SHA-256. Fees are typically low, blocks are targeted every ~10 minutes, and the long-term supply is capped at 21 million BCH—mirroring Bitcoin’s monetary schedule. Over time, the BCH community introduced notable upgrades such as Schnorr signatures (2019), a new difficulty adjustment algorithm (ASERT, 2020), and CashTokens (2023), which extend the network’s capacity for token issuance and smart-contract-like applications via covenants. These design choices aim to keep bitcoin-cash (BCH) competitive for payments, remittances, and emerging Web3 use cases while maintaining decentralization and predictability.

Quick facts about bitcoin-cash (BCH):

• Category: Cryptocurrency; Layer 1 blockchain
• Consensus mechanism: Proof of Work (SHA-256) — see the overview of Proof of Work
• Data model: UTXO — see UTXO Model
• Launch date: August 1, 2017 (hard fork from Bitcoin)
• Supply cap: 21,000,000 BCH
• Current block subsidy: 3.125 BCH per block after the 2024 halving (per network schedule)
• Typical block interval: ~10 minutes
• Typical base block size limit: up to 32 MB (with protocol rules and node defaults)
• Official website: bitcoincash.org
• Profiles and data: CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, Messari, Wikipedia

For readers new to foundational concepts like blockchain, nodes, and transactions, you may also find these primers helpful: Blockchain, Transaction, Blockchain Node, and Merkle Tree.

History & Origin

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) emerged from a long-running debate in the Bitcoin community about how best to scale on-chain transactions. On August 1, 2017, a hard fork split the Bitcoin blockchain into two networks: Bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin-cash (BCH). The fork preserved Bitcoin’s transaction history up to the split and then diverged as BCH adopted a larger block size to accommodate more transactions per block, seeking to keep fees low for peer-to-peer payments. These historical details are documented by sources including Wikipedia, Investopedia, and Binance Research.

Key phases in the early history of bitcoin-cash (BCH):

• 2017: Forks from Bitcoin with initially larger blocks (original BCH limit higher than Bitcoin’s 1 MB at the time) and an emergency difficulty adjustment (EDA) to keep blocks flowing when miners shifted hash rate between BTC and BCH. The EDA proved exploitable and was soon replaced by a more stable difficulty adjustment algorithm in November 2017.
• 2018: The protocol increased the block size limit (commonly 32 MB) and introduced Canonical Transaction Ordering (CTOR) in November 2018 to improve block propagation and enable further scaling optimizations. The same 2018 hard fork saw part of the community split off to create Bitcoin SV (BSV). Major coverage of these splits can be found on Wikipedia and in contemporaneous crypto media archives.
• 2019: BCH added Schnorr signatures, a cryptographic signature scheme that offers improvements in efficiency and potential signature aggregation over ECDSA. See the overview on Messari and BCH ecosystem documentation on bitcoincash.org.
• 2020: BCH experienced another contentious split (Bitcoin Cash Node vs. Bitcoin ABC). The chain recognized by most exchanges and data providers as “BCH” followed Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN). That November, BCH replaced its prior difficulty algorithm with ASERT (aserti3-2d), designed for smoother per-block difficulty adjustments. See background on Messari and Wikipedia.
• 2023: The CashTokens upgrade enabled native token issuance and covenant-based smart-contract patterns on BCH, documented in community technical resources such as CashTokens.org and linked from bitcoincash.org.

From inception, the mission of bitcoin-cash (BCH) has been to prioritize peer-to-peer payments—stressing throughput and low fees—while preserving the fixed supply and basic architecture of Bitcoin. This heritage explains why BCH maintains the same 21 million cap and halving schedule, and why miners utilize the same SHA-256 algorithm.

Technology & Consensus Mechanism

Base architecture

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) is a Layer 1 blockchain that uses the UTXO data model, similar to Bitcoin. In the UTXO Model, each transaction spends outputs from previous transactions and creates new outputs for future spending. BCH transactions are secured via Bitcoin Script, a stack-based scripting language designed for determinism and verifiability, with selected opcodes re-enabled or added over time to facilitate new capabilities.

Consensus and mining

The network employs a Proof of Work Consensus Algorithm with the SHA-256 hash function, identical to Bitcoin’s design. Miners compete to find a valid nonce for a new block, bundling transactions into a Merkle tree structure, and broadcasting the block to the network. See Proof of Work for an overview and bitcoin-cash (BCH) project materials on bitcoincash.org. Blocks are targeted at ~10-minute intervals, and the longest valid chain rule applies, with the network following the most accumulated work.

BCH’s difficulty adjustment has evolved:

• 2017: The Emergency Difficulty Adjustment (EDA) helped keep blocks coming if hash power dropped but led to oscillations and potential gaming.
• Nov 2017: A replacement Difficulty Adjustment Algorithm (DAA) produced more stable block times.
• Nov 2020: The ASERT algorithm (aserti3-2d) was adopted to achieve a smoother, per-block retargeting mechanism, reducing variance while aligning to the 10-minute target. You can find context in ecosystem write-ups and summaries on Messari and Wikipedia.

Because bitcoin-cash (BCH) shares SHA-256 mining with Bitcoin, miners can theoretically switch hash power between the two chains based on relative profitability, which can impact block intervals and security considerations in the short term. This interoperability is a double-edged sword: it can bring abundant hash power when incentives align, but short-term fluctuations can also introduce variability in block production. Concepts like Liveness, Safety (Consensus), and Chain Reorganization are relevant when considering the probabilistic finality of PoW systems.

Block structure, ordering, and propagation

• Larger blocks: BCH’s block size limit is commonly 32 MB (vs. Bitcoin’s much smaller historical limits). Larger blocks enable more transactions per block, directly targeting lower fees and higher throughput. See background references on Bitcoin Cash – Wikipedia and Binance Research.
• Canonical Transaction Ordering (CTOR): Introduced in 2018, CTOR changes how transactions are ordered within a block (lexicographically by transaction ID), which can improve block propagation and open doors for additional scaling optimizations.
• Signature scheme: BCH added support for Schnorr signatures (2019), simplifying multisignature schemes and offering potential benefits for block space efficiency and privacy relative to legacy ECDSA. See summaries on Messari and bitcoincash.org.

BCH nodes utilize techniques such as compact block relay for efficient Block Propagation, reducing bandwidth and speeding synchronization. For fundamentals, see Full Node and Light Client.

Programmability and CashTokens

Historically, BCH prioritized payments with conservative scripting. In May 2023, the CashTokens upgrade extended bitcoin-cash (BCH) via covenants—script patterns that can constrain how funds are spent in the future. This enables:

• Native fungible and non-fungible tokens
• On-chain, contract-like logic for DEXs, vaults, and other DeFi-style applications
• Enhanced building blocks for wallets and merchant tools

Developers can consult CashTokens.org for technical details, with context also reachable from bitcoincash.org. While BCH doesn’t use a general-purpose Virtual Machine like the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), covenants and introspection opcodes provide significant expressive power for certain categories of applications.

Tokenomics

Monetary policy

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) inherits the 21 million maximum supply from Bitcoin, with an issuance schedule governed by halvings every 210,000 blocks. The block subsidy has followed the shared history from Bitcoin’s genesis through the 2017 fork and continues according to the same schedule on the BCH chain:

• August 2017 (at launch as BCH): subsidy was 12.5 BCH per block
• April 2020 halving: subsidy reduced to 6.25 BCH
• April 2024 halving: subsidy reduced to 3.125 BCH

This schedule is well-established in ecosystem references such as CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, Messari, and the project’s official site. The halving cadence leads to a declining issuance rate over time and converges toward the full 21 million supply around the year 2140, echoing Bitcoin’s original design as described in Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”.

Fees and miner incentives

Miners on bitcoin-cash (BCH) earn block subsidies plus transaction fees. Because BCH targets low fees for usability, miner revenue is primarily driven by the subsidy—especially after large blocks reduce the likelihood of fee market congestion. Over the long term, as subsidies diminish, the network’s security budget increasingly depends on aggregate fee revenue and BCH’s market value, a dynamic common to Proof of Work networks.

Circulating supply, market cap, and volume

Live metrics for bitcoin-cash (BCH) fluctuate. For the latest circulating supply, market capitalization in USD, and 24-hour trading volume, consult authoritative data sources:

• CoinGecko BCH page
• CoinMarketCap BCH page
• Messari BCH profile

As a general historical reference, circulating supply has been in the high-teens of millions of BCH (reflecting years of fixed-schedule issuance and halvings), while market cap and volume vary substantially with broader market conditions. Always verify current figures on the links above before making trading or investment decisions involving bitcoin-cash (BCH).

Use Cases & Ecosystem

Peer-to-peer payments and remittances

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) was created to function as spendable, everyday money. Its larger blocks and low fees make small retail payments and cross-border remittances more practical compared to networks that frequently congest. Many wallets and merchant tools support BCH, including the widely used Bitcoin.com Wallet and other non-custodial options. See general wallet concepts like Non-Custodial Wallet and Hardware Wallet.

E-commerce and point-of-sale

A number of payment processors and merchant services enable BCH acceptance online and at point-of-sale terminals. Because fees are typically cents or less, settlement is near-instant at the network level, with probabilistic finality improving with more confirmations. See the concept of Finality for how confirmations reduce reorg risk in Proof of Work systems. As always, merchant acceptance levels change over time; consult processors and regional providers for the latest availability.

Tokens and DeFi-style applications via CashTokens

With CashTokens (2023), bitcoin-cash (BCH) gained native token capabilities and covenant-based contract patterns. This enables:

• On-chain DEXs using order books or AMM-like mechanics
• Stablecoins and synthetic assets subject to oracle design and collateralization considerations
• Payment channel tools and vaults with spend constraints
• NFT-style collectibles

When building or using these systems, it’s important to understand DeFi concepts and risks: Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Oracle Network, Price Oracle, Liquidity Pool, and potential pitfalls like Oracle Manipulation and Bridge Risk when crossing chains.

Trading and investment access

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) is listed on major centralized exchanges and supported by numerous custodial and non-custodial services. On Cube.Exchange, you can conveniently trade BCH/USDT, buy BCH, or sell BCH. To learn more about the asset in the Cube knowledge base, see this overview. Related market structure topics worth reviewing include Centralized Exchange, Order Book, Market Order, and Limit Order.

Advantages

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) offers several noteworthy benefits for users and developers:

• Low fees and high throughput potential: The 32 MB block size limit enables more transactions per block than Bitcoin’s traditional design, which helps keep fees low and improves user experience for payments.
• Established, predictable monetary policy: BCH inherits the 21 million cap and halving schedule from Bitcoin, providing clarity for long-term tokenomics and scarcity narratives.
• Mature tooling and familiarity: BCH retains much of Bitcoin’s scripting model and node infrastructure, so developers familiar with Bitcoin can often adapt quickly. Wallet and merchant support are widely available.
• Programmability via CashTokens: While not a general-purpose VM chain, BCH’s covenants and tokens enable DEXs, stablecoins, and other applications that extend beyond simple payments.
• Security from PoW: SHA-256 mining is a proven security model with extensive real-world testing. Although hash competition with Bitcoin has trade-offs, it also means tools and knowledge from the BTC mining ecosystem are applicable to BCH.

These characteristics make bitcoin-cash (BCH) appealing for payments-centric use cases as well as lean, script-based DeFi constructs that benefit from the UTXO model’s parallelism and simplicity.

Limitations & Risks

Every blockchain design entails trade-offs. For bitcoin-cash (BCH), key considerations include:

• Hash rate competition: Sharing the SHA-256 algorithm with Bitcoin means miners can redirect hash power based on profitability, which can introduce variability in short-term security and block times.
• Large block propagation: Bigger blocks can stress network bandwidth and node resources, especially under heavy load, potentially affecting decentralization if only well-provisioned operators can keep up. Concepts like Throughput (TPS), Latency, and Data Availability matter here.
• Governance fragmentation: BCH’s history includes contentious hard forks (2018 and 2020). In open-source, ideologically diverse communities, disagreements can lead to splits that fragment ecosystems and confuse users.
• Fee market dynamics: Low fees are great for users, but long-term security in PoW networks increasingly depends on transaction fees as subsidies decay. Sustainable fee markets must develop as issuance falls.
• Regulatory and market risk: As with any cryptocurrency, legal treatment varies by jurisdiction, and market prices can be highly volatile. Users should consider custody, taxation, and compliance requirements.

Prospective users and developers of bitcoin-cash (BCH) should weigh these factors against the advantages, aligning their choice of platform with application and risk tolerance.

Notable Milestones

A chronological snapshot of key bitcoin-cash (BCH) events, with corroboration from Tier 1 sources including Wikipedia, Messari, CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, and Binance Research:

• 2017-08-01: BCH launches as a hard fork of Bitcoin to prioritize on-chain scaling for peer-to-peer cash.
• 2017-11-13: DAA replaces the emergency mechanism to stabilize block production.
• 2018-05: Block size limit increased (commonly 32 MB); some opcodes re-enabled.
• 2018-11: Canonical Transaction Ordering (CTOR) introduced; chain splits produce Bitcoin SV (BSV).
• 2019-05: Schnorr signatures activated on the network.
• 2020-04: First BCH halving since the 2017 fork reduces subsidy to 6.25 BCH.
• 2020-11: Network upgrade introduces ASERT difficulty algorithm and a governance split; BCHN remains the primary BCH chain as recognized by exchanges and data providers.
• 2023-05: CashTokens upgrade enables native tokens and covenant-driven contract designs.
• 2024-04: Next halving reduces block subsidy to 3.125 BCH according to the shared Bitcoin schedule.

These milestones track the evolution of bitcoin-cash (BCH) from a payments-focused fork to a chain that also supports tokenization and contract patterns—while preserving predictable tokenomics.

Market Performance

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) has been among the longer-standing large-cap crypto assets by market capitalization since 2017, though its ranking has shifted across cycles. Liquidity is robust on major exchanges, and BCH has significant historical trading volumes during bull and bear markets alike. For current market cap, circulating supply, price, and 24-hour volume, verify live feeds at CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, and analytics platforms like Messari.

Several factors influence the market performance of bitcoin-cash (BCH):

• Utility and adoption in payments, remittances, and merchant ecosystems
• Development cadence (e.g., CashTokens) and tooling improvements
• Mining economics relative to Bitcoin, affecting hash distribution
• Macro market conditions for risk assets, liquidity cycles, and regulation
• Competition from alternative L1s and payment-focused networks

While past performance provides context, it does not predict future results. Crypto assets are inherently volatile, and due diligence is essential before engaging in trading or investment.

Future Outlook

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) is positioned to continue iterating on scalable payments while exploring programmability via CashTokens and covenant-based designs. Several themes may shape its trajectory:

• Scaling and propagation: Engineering work to strengthen block relay, mempool policy, and transaction validation can help large-block networks remain decentralized and performant.
• Ecosystem growth: More wallets, merchant services, and developer frameworks can enhance usability, while DeFi-style primitives (DEXs, stablecoins) built with CashTokens may broaden BCH’s on-chain economy.
• Security budget over time: As the block subsidy halves, durable fee markets and efficient transaction formats (e.g., signature aggregation benefits from Schnorr) become more important for long-term security.
• Interoperability: Trust-minimized bridging and cross-chain standards remain challenging across the industry. BCH projects that integrate with other chains must weigh Bridge Risk and oracle dependencies carefully.
• Governance and standards: Clear improvement processes and community alignment can reduce fragmentation risk and bolster developer confidence.

It’s reasonable to expect bitcoin-cash (BCH) to keep focusing on being usable money while layering in selective programmability. The success of this model will depend on sustained merchant adoption, user experience, and a healthy developer ecosystem.

How to get started

If you want direct market access to bitcoin-cash (BCH):

• Trade the spot pair: BCH/USDT on Cube.Exchange
• Make a purchase: Buy BCH
• Realize gains: Sell BCH
• Learn more: Cube’s BCH overview

Before transacting, review wallet security practices such as Seed Phrase, Passphrase, and 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication). Understand order types like Stop-Loss and Take-Profit, and study market microstructure concepts including Spread and Slippage.

Conclusion

Bitcoin-cash (BCH) is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that prioritizes throughput, low fees, and everyday usability while maintaining a fixed 21 million supply and familiar Bitcoin-style economics. Its technical roadmap has combined pragmatic scaling choices—larger blocks, CTOR, improved difficulty retargeting via ASERT—with signature and scripting enhancements like Schnorr and CashTokens to expand functionality without adopting a general-purpose virtual machine.

For users who want a payments-focused blockchain with predictable tokenomics and broad exchange and wallet support, bitcoin-cash (BCH) is a proven, battle-tested option. As always, consult authoritative sources for up-to-date metrics and developments: bitcoincash.org, CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, Messari, Wikipedia, and the original Bitcoin whitepaper. Whether you’re exploring payments, building simple on-chain applications, or trading, approach bitcoin-cash (BCH) with the same diligence you would apply to any blockchain—understanding its strengths, trade-offs, and evolving ecosystem.