Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency that was hard forked from the original Bitcoin code. It should not be confused with Bitcoin or cash itself. Bitcoin Cash and its supporters assert that they are the “true Bitcoin” and even own Bitcoin.com.
Even though experts advise sticking to Bitcoin and Ethereum as long-term investments, it’s critical to distinguish between Bitcoin Cash and the original Bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency is heavily promoted alongside BTC, which the original Bitcoin community regards as shady and an underhanded attempt to detract attention from the first cryptocurrency.
Here is a detailed comparison of bitcoin and bitcoin cash.
What is Bitcoin?
BTC is a cryptocurrency that was first introduced in 2009. Satoshi Nakamoto (BTC’s creator) stated in the Bitcoin white paper that his vision for BTC was to provide the world with a P2P version of transmitting electronic cash without the use of financial intermediaries. BTC’s journey has been remarkable thus far, but it has been a difficult one.
Despite being at the top of the crypto-verse, Bitcoin is not easy to transact with. Aside from the usual concerns about volatility, the Bitcoin blockchain processes transactions at a snail’s pace. This is why Bitcoin appears to have lost sight of its original purpose. At this point, most people are investing in Bitcoin in the hopes of capital appreciation, as they do in other capital assets such as gold.
A group of Bitcoin miners set out to restore the blockchain’s purpose by increasing transaction processing speed.
What is Bitcoin cash?
Bitcoin cash is a separate digital currency that was created in August 2017 as an offshoot of bitcoin. While it is similar to bitcoin in many ways, it follows its own set of rules and uses its blockchain.
Bitcoin miners have been anticipating scaling issues for years, and the cryptocurrency’s 2017 surge in popularity brought this to a head. Bitcoin traders faced increasingly long approval times and were forced to pay additional fees to expedite the process.
There was widespread disagreement among bitcoin miners about how to solve these issues. While some miners wanted to use the SegWit2x scaling tool, others felt it went against the spirit of the cryptocurrency and preferred to increase the block size.
This disagreement eventually resulted in a ‘hard fork’ in the blockchain, allowing one group of miners to implement one set of changes to the existing bitcoin while another group created entirely new rules for its offshoot, now known as ‘bitcoin cash.’
How Many BCH Are There?
Bitcoin Cash has the same number of coins as Bitcoin, with a total supply of 21 million coins. Its current circulating supply is just over 18 million coins, accounting for approximately 91% of the total supply.
Miners, like Bitcoin miners, act as validators and are compensated for their computing power. At the moment, each block adds 12.5 BCH to the circulation until the total reaches 21 million. However, Bitcoin Cash will face a halving in April 2021, when the reward for miners will be cut in half.
What are the Key Differences Between Bitcoin Vs Bitcoin cash?
Both BTC and BCH use a proof-of-stake mechanism, which requires miners to mine blocks in exchange for coins to confirm transactions on the blockchain.
A DAA is also used on both coins. BTC’s network difficulty is adjusted every 14 days, whereas BCH’s network difficulty is adjusted every 10 minutes (or after every block).
Despite some similarities, the two coins have several significant differences we have mentioned below:
Bitcoin cash vs Bitcoin on Transaction Processing Speed:
You are aware that the transaction processing speed of Bitcoin is relatively slow. The transaction speed of BTC is close to 7 transactions per second. Scalability is a genuine issue. BCH’s transaction speed is significantly faster than Visa’s, at around 200 transactions per second.
Bitcoin cash vs Bitcoin on Transaction fees:
The larger block size of BCH makes the block space much less competitive and significantly reduces transaction fees. Every BTC transaction could cost you around $3. BTC transaction fees have previously reached as high as $60 per transaction. In comparison, BCH’s highest transaction fee has yet to exceed $1 and is currently hovering around 28 cents.
Bitcoin cash vs Bitcoin on Block size utilization:
Block size has been mentioned several times here, and BCH does have larger blocks (1MB blocks on Bitcoin vs. 32MB blocks on Bitcoin Cash). The caveat here is that BCH hasn’t been able to make use of the block space.
Despite the faster transaction processing speed, there haven’t been enough transactions to fill the marginal block space. This has contributed to the limited growth of BCH.
Bitcoin cash vs Bitcoin on Smart Contract Capability:
Although the Bitcoin blockchain does not support smart contracts by default, Bitcoin Defi services are in the works. BCH has already begun to experiment with smart contract languages like Cashscript.
Cashscript simplifies the process of creating cash contracts. It is essentially BCH’s ticket to compete with BTC and ETH in the Defi space.
The Wormhole protocol is another way to create smart contracts (and issue tokens) on BCH. Similar to the ERC-721 and ERC-777 standards, the Omni Layer protocol allows for the creation of BCH tokens and NFTs.
BTC Vs BCH: Which Is Better To Invest?
Despite the debate over bitcoin’s future, it is by far the most widely accepted cryptocurrency, with major corporations adopting solutions to allow for bitcoin purchases daily and investment brokerages facilitating deals. Needless to say, the classic cryptocurrency’s popularity as an investment continues to grow as investors seek to capitalize on it.
When deciding between BCH and BTC as an investment, consider your goals and portfolio strategy. While Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have many similarities, they also have distinct features that distinguish them. It is a matter of personal preference to prefer BCH over BTC.
Conclusion: Should you Invest In Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash both have massive potential. One of them will eventually emerge as the undisputed clear winner of the “which is the true Bitcoin” debate, though it appears that this has already been decided and awarded to BTC.
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