What is Bitcoin Cash? BCH
Explainer
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency that was created in August 2017 as a result of a hard fork from the original Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. The fork occurred due to disagreements within the Bitcoin community about how to scale the network to accommodate more transactions.
Bitcoin Cash was created with the intention of addressing Bitcoin's scalability issues by increasing the block size limit, which allows for more transactions to be processed per block. This was done in an effort to improve transaction speed and lower fees, making Bitcoin Cash potentially more suitable for everyday transactions compared to Bitcoin.
Like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash operates on a decentralized peer-to-peer network using blockchain technology. It allows users to send and receive digital currency directly without the need for intermediaries like banks. Bitcoin Cash transactions are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain, which is maintained by a network of computers (nodes) around the world.
Bitcoin Cash has gained some adoption as a payment method and store of value, although it has not achieved the same level of mainstream acceptance as Bitcoin. It remains one of the major cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization and trading volume.