Last Updated: March 2026
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency that split from Bitcoin in August 2017 over a disagreement about how to scale the network. While Bitcoin prioritized being a store of value, Bitcoin Cash focused on fast, cheap payments with larger block sizes.
History and the Block Size War
Bitcoin’s 1MB block size limited it to ~7 transactions per second. By 2017, fees spiked and transactions took hours. The community split: one side wanted SegWit + Lightning Network (keep blocks small, scale off-chain). The other wanted bigger blocks (scale on-chain). On August 1, 2017, the big-block camp forked Bitcoin, creating Bitcoin Cash with 8MB blocks (later increased to 32MB). Key figures: Roger Ver (“Bitcoin Jesus”) championed BCH as the “real Bitcoin.” See how Bitcoin works.
How BCH Works
BCH uses the same Proof of Work consensus as Bitcoin (SHA-256 mining) but with 32MB blocks enabling ~100+ TPS. Transactions confirm in ~10 minutes with fees under $0.01. It aims to be “peer-to-peer electronic cash” as described in Satoshi’s original whitepaper. See PoW guide.
Tokenomics
Supply: 21 million BCH (same as Bitcoin). Halving: Same 4-year schedule as BTC. Mining: SHA-256 PoW, same hardware as Bitcoin mining. See tokenomics guide and halving guide.
BCH vs BTC
- Block size: BCH 32MB vs BTC 1MB (+ SegWit)
- Fees: BCH ~$0.01 vs BTC $0.50-$10+
- Speed: Similar (~10 min blocks), but BCH handles more transactions per block
- Market cap: BTC is ~100x larger than BCH
- Philosophy: BCH = payment currency. BTC = store of value. See BTC vs gold
Pros and Cons
- Pro: Very low transaction fees
- Pro: Same proven PoW security model as Bitcoin
- Pro: 21M supply cap
- Con: Far less adoption and hashrate than Bitcoin
- Con: Lost the “Bitcoin” narrative war
- Con: Bitcoin Lightning Network competes for the same payment use case
- Con: Multiple further forks (BSV) fragmented the community
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bitcoin Cash the real Bitcoin?
The market has sided with BTC by ~100x market cap. BCH supporters disagree.
Can I mine Bitcoin Cash?
Yes — BCH uses SHA-256, same as Bitcoin. Same ASIC hardware works for both.
Is BCH a good investment?
Higher risk than Bitcoin with less institutional backing and smaller ecosystem.
