Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency that was designed to function as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. It is an implementation of Bitcoin that focuses on scalability and transaction efficiency. BCH maintains the original vision of Bitcoin as a payment system by featuring larger block sizes (up to 32MB compared to Bitcoin's 1MB), resulting in faster transaction processing and lower fees.

Bitcoin Cash aims to scale peer-to-peer cash transactions globally by utilizing both on-chain and off-chain scaling solutions. The BCH network undergoes regular updates and improvements to enhance its functionality and user experience. Key technical features include the removal of Replace-By-Fee, enabling 0-confirmation transactions for point-of-sale use cases, and the implementation of Schnorr signatures which improve privacy and performance. BCH also supports smart contracts through CashScript, allowing for more complex transaction types beyond simple transfers.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was created as a result of a hard fork from the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain on August 1, 2017. The fork was motivated by the Bitcoin community's reluctance to perform hard forks, which led to the Bitcoin network reaching its capacity limit. This resulted in higher transaction costs on the Bitcoin network, with fees often ranging from ~$2-8, compared to BCH's ability to maintain transaction fees as low as $0.001. During periods of high network usage, Bitcoin's transaction costs can increase significantly.

The fundamental disagreement centered around two different scaling approaches: Bitcoin (BTC) chose to implement SegWit and develop the Lightning Network for off-chain scaling, while Bitcoin Cash (BCH) opted for immediate on-chain scaling through larger block sizes. This philosophical divide represented different interpretations of Satoshi Nakamoto's original vision for Bitcoin.