Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin\
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was created in 2017 as a fork of Bitcoin with one key change: bigger blocks. While Bitcoin limits blocks to about 4MB (with SegWit), Bitcoin Cash increased the block size to 32MB, allowing more transactions per block and keeping fees consistently low. The goal was to fulfill Bitcoin's original vision as "peer-to-peer electronic cash" — money you actually spend.
BCH prioritizes being usable as everyday money. Transactions are fast (confirming in about 10 minutes like Bitcoin, but with much lower fees) and the network can handle significantly more transactions per second. This makes BCH practical for buying coffee, paying bills, or sending money to family.
The project has a dedicated community that believes scaling the base layer (bigger blocks) is the right approach, as opposed to Bitcoin's strategy of keeping small blocks and using layer-2 solutions like the Lightning Network.
How Bitcoin Cash Works
Bitcoin Cash works almost identically to Bitcoin — same mining algorithm (SHA-256), same basic structure — but with larger blocks. Think of Bitcoin as a highway with two lanes. When traffic gets heavy, fees rise and things slow down. Bitcoin Cash widened the highway to eight lanes, so more cars can get through at the same time without paying surge prices. The tradeoff is that bigger blocks require more storage and bandwidth to run a full node, which some argue affects decentralization.
Bitcoin Cash Ecosystem
- Low-fee payments accepted by merchants worldwide
- CashTokens — native token and NFT support on BCH
- SmartBCH — EVM-compatible sidechain for DeFi
- One of the most widely listed and liquid cryptocurrencies
- Merged mining with Bitcoin via SHA-256
Team & Development
Bitcoin Cash was created through a hard fork of Bitcoin on August 1, 2017. There was no single founder — the fork was supported by a coalition of miners, developers, and businesses led by figures like Roger Ver and Jihan Wu. Development is maintained by multiple independent teams including Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN) and Bitcoin Unlimited. There is no single company or foundation in control.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Bitcoin Cash different from Bitcoin?
Bitcoin Cash has larger blocks (32MB vs ~4MB), allowing more transactions per block and lower fees. Bitcoin focuses on store of value with smaller blocks and layer-2 scaling. BCH focuses on being usable as everyday payment currency.
What wallet supports BCH?
Electron Cash is the most popular dedicated BCH wallet. Bitcoin.com Wallet, Exodus, and Trust Wallet also support BCH. Ledger hardware wallets work for cold storage. Do not send BCH to a Bitcoin (BTC) address.
Are BCH fees really lower than Bitcoin?
Yes, consistently. BCH transactions typically cost less than a penny, while Bitcoin fees can range from a few cents to several dollars depending on network congestion.
Can I sell or swap BCH?
Yes. Swaps supports selling BCH for fiat and swapping it for other tokens.
Buy Bitcoin Cash on Swaps
Compare Bitcoin Cash prices from trusted providers. Buy BCH with credit card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, and 29+ payment methods. Non-custodial — crypto goes directly to your wallet.
Related Pages