CashTokens
bitcoin-cash · token · protocol
Native Bitcoin Cash primitives for fungible tokens and non-fungible tokens attached to UTXOs.
CashTokens are consensus-validated Bitcoin Cash token primitives activated in May 2023. A BCH output can carry a fungible amount, an NFT commitment and capability, or both.
Every category has a 32-byte ID derived from an eligible genesis transaction input. All fungible units are created at category genesis; later transactions can transfer or burn them but cannot increase that supply. A minting NFT can authorize new NFTs in its category, not additional fungible units. Issuers can still release previously reserved fungible units into circulation.
Category ID and token conservation are consensus data. Names, symbols, icons, websites, and decimal display are external metadata, commonly distributed through BCMR. Metadata can be absent or conflicting and is not proof of issuer identity.
Native validation reduces repeated token-accounting code but does not audit issuers, contracts, wallets, bridges, exchanges, or metadata services. CashToken transactions pay BCH miner fees, which vary with transaction size and network policy.
See CashTokens versus ERC-20 for the validation, fee, and metadata tradeoffs. TokenWatch shows observed token activity with those distinctions in view.
Related terms
Fungible Token
→A fungible token has interchangeable units, so each unit of the same token is equivalent for payment, accounting, or trading.
token · standard
Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
→A token unit whose identifier, commitment, or contract state makes it distinguishable from other units.
token · asset
Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO)
→A discrete spendable output on a UTXO blockchain, similar to a digital coin that must be spent whole.
technical · blockchain
Token
→A transferable or accountable unit defined by a blockchain protocol, smart contract, or application ledger.
blockchain · asset
P2SH
→A script type where the output is locked to the hash of a redeem script, enabling features like multi-sig.
script · address