Bitcoin Cash is a hard fork of the first cryptocurrency, as its creators did not support the protocol upgrade with a compromise solution to the SegWitx2 scalability problem. As a result, a new cryptocurrency was created based on the Bitcoin protocols. It works on the same principle and is a branch of the very first Satoshi Nakamoto blockchain. At the same time, transactions in two different branches are incompatible and are not recorded in the common chain of blocks.

The reason for the emergence of Bitcoin Cash is the disagreement in the crypto community. Although the majority of miners (up to 95%) agreed with the proposal to improve the cryptocurrency, part of the community was not satisfied. Users felt that the new protocol was introduced to delay the resolution of the scalability issue. This allowed miners and investors not to lose money due to the fall in the price of BTC amid the news about the upgrade. The solution was a hard fork created by part of the Bitcoin development team and a former chief engineer.

Today, Bitcoin Cash is no longer a minority solution. Users began to trust the new currency and appreciated the benefits of large block sizes. The network is constantly updated, and the development team is actively correcting the shortcomings of the Bitcoin network.

Distinctive features

The team of the Bitcoin Cash system managed to make a full-fledged community out of 5% of dissidents, in no way inferior to coins from the top 20 in terms of market capitalization. Moreover, adequate decisions and the desire for decentralization brought cryptocurrency to 4th place in the overall rating of digital assets.

To understand why the new offshoot of Bitcoin, which took place at the peak of the popularity of forks, turned out to be so popular, we will describe the distinctive features of the project. For clarity, let's compare some positions with the Bitcoin Core network and other top projects:

• A hard fork. Most current projects are inherently new protocols with their concept. At the same time, up to 90% of payment systems operate based on the Bitcoin blockchain but use different algorithms, emission principles, and reward systems. The Bitcoin Cash currency is a hard fork, the technical side of which is completely based on Bitcoin. It uses the SHA-256 algorithm, the Proof-of-Work protocol, and the same emission of 21 million coins.
• Problem period. Bitcoin Cash is not just a group of miners and developers disagreeing with the cryptocurrency upgrade policy. The fork came at a time when the network was experiencing serious problems with transaction times. The development team's decision attracted the attention of many users who felt the scalability problem themselves.
• Increased block size. A 1 MB transaction block is considered standard not only for Bitcoin but also for other cryptocurrencies. It is believed that this size prevents the successful implementation of DDoS attacks and system vulnerabilities in the early stages of the popularity of the currency.
• Development team. Unlike most digital currencies, Bitcoin Cash is developed by several independent development teams. According to experts, this further increases the system’s decentralization but makes it difficult to agree on ideas about the future of cryptocurrency.
• Updating the system. It is believed that every 6 months the BCH network will be updated. The development teams amend the hashing algorithms and make the program more secure. It also allows actual, vital changes to be made to the project without a vote.

In addition, the Bitcoin Cash network implements an algorithm to protect against transaction erasure and double-spending. This avoids adding Bitcoin blocks to BCH and vice versa. Also, in Bitcoin Cash, the user separately creates a signature for the hash amount of the transaction, which helps to avoid errors in the irreversible course of the transaction.

Advantages and disadvantages of Bitcoin Cash

Occupying the 4th place in the ranking of cryptocurrencies in terms of capitalization according to CoinMarketCap, the digital currency has every chance of becoming the fastest and most reliable blockchain-based payment system. The obvious advantages of cryptocurrency will play their role here:

• Bitcoin network problem solved. Unlike the first digital currency, BCH solved the scalability problem once and for all. The combination of frequent mining difficulty updates and flexible block size makes it possible to complete transactions in seconds. In this case, the waiting for confirmation, even during busy periods, is less than 2 minutes. For example, for Bitcoin, the transfer confirmation time is 1-2 hours, and for the global SWIFT currency transfer system, it takes 10-15 minutes.
• Really small commissions. In the PoW system, the commission plays a special role. The more important the payment is and the faster it needs to be made, the more commission the user specifies. On especially busy days in the Bitcoin network, the fee can reach 20-50 US dollars per transfer. Bitcoin Cash offers a healthy alternative - less than 1 cent per transaction between any users. At the same time, the transfer time between users' wallets will be less than 2 minutes. This is a clear advantage of BCH over most cryptocurrencies.
• No waiting queue for confirmation. No matter how many miners are involved in the process of calculating hash sums, the block processing speed will always remain at the same level. After tangible problems waiting for a transaction on the Bitcoin network in 2017, many users switched to BCH. Due to the lower cost of the coin, the lack of a mem pool, and lower volatility, Bitcoin Cash is more convenient to settle than the first cryptocurrency. This digital asset is used on hundreds of crypto exchanges, in online stores, and for online settlement.
• Decentralized development. Since several independent groups are involved in the development, it is more difficult for large players to influence the transformation of the cryptocurrency protocol. This also creates an additional degree of protection against attack 51, since the concentration of power in one person is tracked in time and warned by the developers. At the same time, the initiators of the creation of the fork are ordinary users from the Bitcoin community. Each of them is interested in the decentralization of cryptocurrency in its own way.
• System reliability. The first cryptocurrency is considered the most reliable project on the blockchain. It was created and developed by professional cryptographers, mathematicians, and developers. Based on this system, Bitcoin Cash, which incorporated the best aspects of distributed computing and data storage technology, was created.
• Pseudonymity and signatures for the hash sum. The Bitcoin fork is pseudonymous - despite the open information about transactions, it is impossible to accurately track the addresses of senders and recipients. But in technical terms, Bitcoin Cash does not just completely repeat BTC,but complements it and takes into account the negative aspects. To speed up the process of processing transactions and increase the confidentiality and reliability of the system, the developers additionally introduced the formation of a digital signature for each hash sum.
• Worldwide perspective. To compete with global banking systems, it is not enough just to use blockchain technology. Most people are used to paying with a lack of privacy and publicity for instant transfers between bank accounts. Bitcoin Cash offers a versatile alternative - the reliability of a blockchain-based system and the speed of the most advanced bank transfers.

There are fans of Bitcoin Cash, and there are people who are skeptical about the project. Doubts about the future of cryptocurrencies did not appear by chance - even high positions in the ranking do not guarantee the reliability of digital systems. Critics adhere to the following claims:

• Lack of own developments. The Bitcoin Cash development team did not start their project from scratch but decided to use the Bitcoin protocol. Thus, the creators spent a minimum of effort and money to create a new cryptocurrency, but at the same time, they earned a lot. The lack of our developments makes us think about the future of BCH, and about other new projects.
• Fraudulent scheme. Since its inception, BCH has been criticized by many critics as a scam. Indeed, immediately after the split, the price of BCH settled in the region of 0.2-0.5 BTC, which instantly gave the development team about 5 billion in market capitalization. At the same time, many early investors in Bitcoin, such as Roger Ver, decided to side with Bitcoin Cash, recognizing it as the future of Bitcoin.
• Problems with too large a block. Satoshi Nakamoto has provided almost everything in the blockchain-based payment system. Even the block size of 1 MB was not chosen by chance - it avoids the problem of double spending and reduces the requirements for the computing power of miners. To avoid these shortcomings in BCH, the developers had to come up with an algorithm for signing hash sums.
• Lack of complete confidentiality. Like most cryptocurrencies, BCH is not completely confidential, but only partially hides the user. Theoretically, through open information about transactions, you can track the real identity of a person. This jeopardizes the attractiveness of cryptocurrencies for those who want a completely private payment system.

How to exchange Bitcoin Cash?

It might be a good idea to exchange Bitcoin Cash, especially when you can exchange the cryptocurrency at the best rate. On JansWap, you can easily convert BCH through a wide range of instant cryptocurrency exchange providers listed, review these supported exchangers, their offers and the exchange rates they pick. Make sure to read their KYC/AML policies and the community's thoughts, and check if the fees are included in the estimate to avoid any hassle, making crypto to Bitcoin Cash or Bitcoin Cash to crypto transactions.

• Select Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in the Send section.
• Enter the amount you wish to swap.
• Choose crypto to get in the Get Up To section.
• Review available offers and their providers.
• Select an offer to proceed with.
• Enter your wallet address to receive crypto.
• Send your Bitcoin Cash deposit to a generated address.
• Rate your exchange provider.