Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH): A Cryptocurrency Comparison

Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, How Do They Compare?

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the biggest Bitcoin fork to date, dubbed #BCHDay. Lets take a look back at how the two compare.

Happy Bitcoin Cash Day!

Today marks 1 Year since the #BitcoinRebirth

20,000-25,000 transactions per day

10,000+ merchants accepting BCH

62394+ blocks mined

Thanks to the whole #BitcoinCash community for supporting the true vision of #Bitcoin as peer-to-peer electronic cash! pic.twitter.com/oyO9L71Kj1

— Bitcoin.com Official (@BitcoinCom) August 1, 2018

The creation of forks in the road of the Bitcoin blockchain has always been a contentious feature of its development. When there is a disagreement within the community, a fork in the blockchain can create two separate paths. One path remains the same, without the technical or philosophical change which was being demanded. The other path splits into a new blockchain, which typically becomes denoted as an entirely separate cryptocurrency.

Sometimes, the splits can get a bit ridiculous. The creation of over ten new coins has resulted from disagreements regarding the state of the Bitcoin blockchain, many of the coins simply adding another word after the word “Bitcoin” in order to derive its special name. For many, this has created a sense of unoriginality in the community, screaming that the creators and pushers of the split are simply looking for a new way to make a bit of profit before the price of their newly created coin crashes to the floor, as many Bitcoin knockoff prices do.

But occasionally splits in the blockchain gain enough traction, and are backed by a serious enough qualm with the original state of Bitcoin affairs, that the created coin gains some notoriety and even respect. Bitcoin Cash likely represents the most popular split to happen on the Bitcoin blockchain. With an established coin, significant numbers of followers, high market participation, and a relatively high price, this altcoin has distinguished itself among the hordes of cryptocurrencies derived from forks in the Bitcoin chain.

But the differences between But the differences between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin can be incredibly confusing. To new investors, the idea that the latter somehow created the former, and that the former operates somehow completely independently of the former, is a cause for major confusion and distrust. But at its core, the differences between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin are relatively simple. can be incredibly confusing. To new investors, the idea that the latter somehow created the former, and that the former operates somehow completely independently of the former, is a cause for major confusion and distrust. But at its core, the differences between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin are relatively simple.

Bitcoin whitepaper purists should take note that the following things are NOT described in the whitepaper:

multisig
mining pools
21M coin cap
GPU & ASIC mining
10 minute block times
HD address generation
best chain = cumulative PoW, not longest chain
and much, much more…

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) July 29, 2018

Main Differences Between BTC & BCH

The first major point of difference between Bitcoin and its Bitcoin Cash is the price associated with both digital currencies. Both the actual price behind the currencies and the reasons behind the price’s objective value help to differentiate the two coins from one another.

For Bitcoin the objective value comes from the ability of the network to remain completely decentralized. Although the community would be able to see quicker transactions and possible scalability of the network if they were to embrace a more centralized approach, many of the users of Bitcoin would rather see a decrease to those factors than to ever see their coin become a function of the traditional financial system which even the founder of Bitcoin detested.

As a result of this consistence in philosophy, Bitcoin is likely the most secure and attack-resistant cryptocurrency anywhere on the market. This has created a significant demand for the currency, as the price skyrocketed to over $20,000 last year before falling to around $8,200 today. Even with the price crash factored in, however, the currency is easily the most expensive and valued one in any of the crypto markets. Additionally, BTC market cap and volume is the highest among any cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Cash, on the other hand, took an effort to increase the productivity of the system. The main technical difference between the two is that Bitcoin Cash increased the block size, or the size of the mechanisms that store and move transaction information, on the blockchain. Having increased the block size from 1 megabyte to 8 megabytes, the Bitcoin Cash network can process transactions significantly faster than Bitcoin can.

This, of course, has its problems as well. As a result of general concern regarding the safety and security of the improved BTCh system, the price of Bitcoin Cash remains significantly lower than that of Bitcoin, right now hovering at around $800.