CashVM
bitcoin-cash · protocol · smart-contract
An ecosystem name for the stack-based virtual machine that evaluates Bitcoin Cash spending bytecode.
- Also known as
- Bitcoin Cash VM, Bitcoin Cash Virtual Machine
CashVM is a common name for the Bitcoin Script-derived virtual machine used when Bitcoin Cash nodes validate transaction inputs. It evaluates stack-based unlocking and locking bytecode under the consensus rules active for that block.
Execution is tied to spending UTXOs rather than updating a shared contract account. Available operations can inspect specified parts of the spending transaction, check signatures and hashes, perform arithmetic, and enforce conditions within defined resource limits.
CashVM is deterministic validation machinery, not a persistent application server. Contracts must encode state in transaction outputs and remain within bytecode, operation, signature-check, and other consensus or relay-policy limits that can vary by network upgrade.
Related terms
Opcode
→An encoded instruction interpreted by a virtual machine or transaction script engine.
technical · scripting
Smart Contract
→Blockchain-enforced program or script logic that controls how assets or state may change.
blockchain · scripting
CashScript
→A high-level language, compiler, and TypeScript SDK for building Bitcoin Cash UTXO contracts.
bitcoin-cash · development · smart-contract
Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO)
→A discrete spendable output on a UTXO blockchain, similar to a digital coin that must be spent whole.
technical · blockchain