Bitcoin Cash is a virtual currency, more commonly referred to as a cryptocurrency, coming into existence as a result of disagreements between Bitcoin miners and Bitcoin core developers.
Bitcoin Cash is one of Bitcoin’s main competitors in the race to become the true crypto alternative to fiat money and electronic payments. Unlike fiat money, there are no physical Bitcoin Cash coins, just balances of Bitcoins Cash that are recorded on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain which is a decentralized, public ledger.
Bitcoin Cash came into being on 1st August 2017 following a Bitcoin hard fork, with the team behind Bitcoin Cash including miners, a number of developers, together with entrepreneurs and investors viewing the upgrade as a viable challenge to Bitcoin. Early Bitcoin investor, Roger Keith Ver, was heavily involved in the evolution of Bitcoin Cash.
There are a finite number of Bitcoin Cash coins, the total number being 21 million, similar to Bitcoin coins supply. The anonymity of Bitcoin Cash coin holders means that it is not possible to identify the primary owners, though according to the Bitcoin Cash Rich List, the largest holder of Bitcoin Cash holds less than 2% of the total number of coins currently in circulation.
The creation of each individual Bitcoin Cash comes from mining, which stems from a reward mechanism for miners verifying transactions on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain.
Bitcoin Cash blockchain is the key driver behind Bitcoin Cash coins. A decentralized ledger that is updated instantaneously across all users, with transaction times and fees depending upon the speed which miners are able to verify transactions. The Blockchain technology is unique as it has no centralized control or the ability to manipulate its content.
Some distinct differences and characteristics of Bitcoin Cash include:
- There are no physical Bitcoin Cash coins, only virtual.
- Unlike fiat currencies, where governments and central banks are able to print more money, there are a finite number of Bitcoin Cash coins.
- The very nature of the Bitcoin Cash decentralized blockchain means that the payment system runs 24-hours a day, with no downtime and has no restrictions on where and to whom Bitcoin can be sent.
- Users of Bitcoin Cash are anonymous.
- Bitcoin Cash has a block size of 8MB compared with 2MB for Bitcoin, supporting faster transaction times and lower transaction fees.
