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'''Bitcoin Cash (BCH)''' is a ].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Oli|title=Bitcoin price RIVAL: Cryptocurrency 'faster than bitcoin' will CHALLENGE market leaders|url=https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/907536/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-market-leader-cash-ripple-ethereum|accessdate=1 March 2018|work=Express|date=21 January 2018}}</ref> It is a result of a prolonged disagreement on how to handle the ]. A group of influential miners, developers and investors<ref name="wibc">{{Cite news |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-bitcoin-cash-2-846320/ |title=What is Bitcoin Cash? — a short guide |author=Mitja Rutnik |accessdate=27 March 2018 |date=20 March 2018 |work=Android Authority |publisher= }}</ref> not content with the ] feature scheduled to activate decided to increase bitcoin transaction capacity eight times. The change, called a '']'', took effect on August 1, 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Jake|title=The Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork Will Show Us Which Coin Is Best|url=http://fortune.com/2017/08/11/bitcoin-cash-hard-fork-price-date-why/|accessdate=11 March 2018|work=Forbes|date=11 August 2017}}</ref> As a result, the bitcoin ledger called the ] and the cryptocurrency split in two.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Larson|first1=Selena|title=Bitcoin split in two, here's what that means|url=http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/01/technology/business/bitcoin-cash-new-currency/index.html|accessdate=22 January 2018|work=CNN|date=1 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Thieme|first1=Nick|title=Bitcoin Has Split Into Two Cryptocurrencies. What, Exactly, Does That Mean?|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/08/04/explaining_bitcoin_s_split_into_two_cryptocurrencies.html|accessdate=8 March 2018|work=Slate|date=4 August 2017}}</ref> '''Bitcoin Cash (BCH)''' is a ] useful for making payments. It is ]'s most successful spin-off and its adoption by investors was quick.<ref name="wibch">{{Cite news |url=https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-cash-for-beginners/what-is-bitcoin-cash |title=What is Bitcoin Cash? |accessdate=2 April 2018 |publisher=Cointelegraph }}</ref> Bitcoin Cash is a result of a prolonged disagreement on how to handle the ]. A group of influential miners, developers and investors<ref name="wibc">{{Cite news |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-bitcoin-cash-2-846320/ |title=What is Bitcoin Cash? — a short guide |author=Mitja Rutnik |accessdate=27 March 2018 |date=20 March 2018 |work=Android Authority |publisher= }}</ref> not content with the ] feature scheduled to activate decided to increase bitcoin transaction capacity eight times. The change, called a '']'', took effect on August 1, 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Jake|title=The Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork Will Show Us Which Coin Is Best|url=http://fortune.com/2017/08/11/bitcoin-cash-hard-fork-price-date-why/|accessdate=11 March 2018|work=Forbes|date=11 August 2017}}</ref> As a result, the bitcoin ledger called the ] and the cryptocurrency split in two.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Larson|first1=Selena|title=Bitcoin split in two, here's what that means|url=http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/01/technology/business/bitcoin-cash-new-currency/index.html|accessdate=22 January 2018|work=CNN|date=1 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Thieme|first1=Nick|title=Bitcoin Has Split Into Two Cryptocurrencies. What, Exactly, Does That Mean?|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/08/04/explaining_bitcoin_s_split_into_two_cryptocurrencies.html|accessdate=8 March 2018|work=Slate|date=4 August 2017}}</ref>


Bitcoin Cash retained the decentralization of bitcoin as well as its other main characteristics with two distinctions. The maximum block size (transaction processing capacity) was increased to eight megabytes from one and an emergency difficulty adjustment feature was added. A second change to the difficulty adjustment algorithm to steady the rate of block production was implemented in November 2017. Bitcoin Cash retained the decentralization of bitcoin as well as its other main characteristics with two distinctions. The maximum block size (transaction processing capacity) was increased to eight megabytes from one and an emergency difficulty adjustment feature was added. A second change to the difficulty adjustment algorithm to steady the rate of block production was implemented in November 2017.

Whereas the original Bitcoin is developing into a ] Bitcoin Cash aims to be a ] as originally described in the Bitcoin whitepaper. At the time of the fork anyone owning bitcoin was also in possession of the same number of Bitcoin Cash units.<ref name="bsit">{{Cite news |url=http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/01/technology/business/bitcoin-cash-new-currency/index.html |title=Bitcoin split in two, here's what that means |author=Selena Larson |accessdate=2 April 2018 |date=1 August 2017 |work=CNN Tech |publisher=Cable News Network }}</ref>


== History == == History ==
In May 2017, bitcoin transactions were taking days to complete.<ref name="wibch"/> Users were paying higher transaction fees, making payments for small purchases unfeasible.<ref name="wibch"/>


===Idea forms=== ===Idea forms===
Up until July 2017, bitcoin users maintained a common set of rules for the cryptocurrency.<ref name=nyt-split>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/business/dealbook/bitcoin-cash-split.html|title=Some Bitcoin Backers Are Defecting to Create a Rival Currency|last=Popper|first=Nathaniel|date=July 25, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 28, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On July 20, 2017 at block height 476768 Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 91 was ''locked in'' (i.e. scheduled to activate at block height 477120).<ref name="bip91means">{{cite web|url = https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/bip-91-has-activated-heres-what-means-and-what-it-does-not/|title = BIP 91 Has Locked In. Here’s What That Means (and What It Does Not)|author = Aaron van Wirdum|date = July 20, 2017|accessdate = July 29, 2017|publisher = ''Bitcoin Magazine''}}</ref><ref name="bip91cd">{{cite web|url = https://www.coindesk.com/bip-91-locks-means-bitcoin-not-scaled-yet/|title = BIP 91 Locks In: What This Means for Bitcoin and Why It's Not Scaled Yet|last = Hertig|first = Alyssa|date = July 21, 2017|accessdate = July 29, 2017|publisher = CoinDesk}}</ref> It was designed to reject blocks created by miners not supporting ].<ref name="bip91means" /><ref name="bip91cd" /> Up until July 2017, bitcoin users maintained a common set of rules for the cryptocurrency.<ref name=nyt-split>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/business/dealbook/bitcoin-cash-split.html|title=Some Bitcoin Backers Are Defecting to Create a Rival Currency|last=Popper|first=Nathaniel|date=July 25, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 28, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On July 20, 2017 at block height 476768 Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 91 was ''locked in'' (i.e. scheduled to activate at block height 477120).<ref name="bip91means">{{cite web|url = https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/bip-91-has-activated-heres-what-means-and-what-it-does-not/|title = BIP 91 Has Locked In. Here’s What That Means (and What It Does Not)|author = Aaron van Wirdum|date = July 20, 2017|accessdate = July 29, 2017|publisher = ''Bitcoin Magazine''}}</ref><ref name="bip91cd">{{cite web|url = https://www.coindesk.com/bip-91-locks-means-bitcoin-not-scaled-yet/|title = BIP 91 Locks In: What This Means for Bitcoin and Why It's Not Scaled Yet|last = Hertig|first = Alyssa|date = July 21, 2017|accessdate = July 29, 2017|publisher = CoinDesk}}</ref> It was designed to reject blocks created by miners not supporting ].<ref name="bip91means" /><ref name="bip91cd" />


Some members of the bitcoin community felt that adopting BIP 91 without increasing the block-size limit favored people who wanted to treat bitcoin as a digital investment rather than as a transactional currency.<ref name=nyt-split /><ref name=qz-bitcoin-civil-war>{{Cite news|url=https://qz.com/1037971/bitcoin-cash-is-a-new-twist-in-the-hard-fork-debate-and-a-way-to-bet-on-the-outcome-of-the-cryptocurrencys-civil-war/|title=There’s a strange new twist in bitcoin’s "civil war"—and a way to bet on the outcome|last=Wong|first=Joon Ian|work=Quartz|date=July 25, 2017|access-date=July 28, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> Some members of the bitcoin community felt that adopting BIP 91 without increasing the block-size limit favored people who wanted to treat bitcoin as a digital investment rather than as a transactional currency.<ref name=nyt-split /><ref name=qz-bitcoin-civil-war>{{Cite news|url=https://qz.com/1037971/bitcoin-cash-is-a-new-twist-in-the-hard-fork-debate-and-a-way-to-bet-on-the-outcome-of-the-cryptocurrencys-civil-war/|title=There’s a strange new twist in bitcoin’s "civil war"—and a way to bet on the outcome|last=Wong|first=Joon Ian|work=Quartz|date=July 25, 2017|access-date=July 28, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> According to the Bitcoin Core roadmap fast and cheap payments are a secondary priority, whereas BCH places the focus on ]s as the highest priority. The belief underlying this is that adoption comes through ] and that reduced fees facilitate the goal of reliable transactions. This places BCH in competition with many existing payment methods such as Paypal and Visa.<ref name="wibch"/>


The plan to do a hard fork was proposed by the Bitcoin Unlimited group in BUIP055 on May 10, 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://bitco.in/forum/threads/buip055-passed-increase-the-block-size-limit-at-a-fixed-block-height.2103/|title=BUIP055: (passed) Increase the Block Size Limit at a Fixed Block Height|work=Bitcoin Forum|access-date=2018-03-08|language=en-US}}</ref> This proposal was passed on June 3, 2017 with 21 votes for and 0 against.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://bitco.in/forum/threads/voting-is-closed-for-buips-26-49-50-51-52-53-54-55-56-57-60.2167/page-2|title=### VOTING is CLOSED for BUIPs 26,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57 & 60 ###|work=Bitcoin Forum|access-date=2018-03-08|language=en-US}}</ref> Early work occurred in the Bitcoin Unlimited repository or in clones; documentation work used the term ''UAHF'' on June 6, 2017,<ref>{{cite web|last1=ftrader|title=Add doc/buip-hf.md guidance document|url=https://github.com/ftrader-bitcoinunlimited/BitcoinUnlimited/commit/fe5a47be57853265f7af144a90ed07f9dab19942|website=github.com/ftrader-bitcoinunlimited/|accessdate=11 March 2018}}</ref> although code often used the term BUIP055.<ref name="ARF">{{cite web|last1=Stone|first1=Andrew|title=Implement BUIP055 anti replay feature|url=https://github.com/BitcoinUnlimited/BitcoinUnlimited/commit/e2b82e5a01e5baae49f4729bf5e50e71cbd493f1|website=github.com/BitcoinUnlimited/|accessdate=11 March 2018}}</ref> The plan to do a hard fork was proposed by the Bitcoin Unlimited group in BUIP055 on May 10, 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://bitco.in/forum/threads/buip055-passed-increase-the-block-size-limit-at-a-fixed-block-height.2103/|title=BUIP055: (passed) Increase the Block Size Limit at a Fixed Block Height|work=Bitcoin Forum|access-date=2018-03-08|language=en-US}}</ref> This proposal was passed on June 3, 2017 with 21 votes for and 0 against.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://bitco.in/forum/threads/voting-is-closed-for-buips-26-49-50-51-52-53-54-55-56-57-60.2167/page-2|title=### VOTING is CLOSED for BUIPs 26,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57 & 60 ###|work=Bitcoin Forum|access-date=2018-03-08|language=en-US}}</ref> Early work occurred in the Bitcoin Unlimited repository or in clones; documentation work used the term ''UAHF'' on June 6, 2017,<ref>{{cite web|last1=ftrader|title=Add doc/buip-hf.md guidance document|url=https://github.com/ftrader-bitcoinunlimited/BitcoinUnlimited/commit/fe5a47be57853265f7af144a90ed07f9dab19942|website=github.com/ftrader-bitcoinunlimited/|accessdate=11 March 2018}}</ref> although code often used the term BUIP055.<ref name="ARF">{{cite web|last1=Stone|first1=Andrew|title=Implement BUIP055 anti replay feature|url=https://github.com/BitcoinUnlimited/BitcoinUnlimited/commit/e2b82e5a01e5baae49f4729bf5e50e71cbd493f1|website=github.com/BitcoinUnlimited/|accessdate=11 March 2018}}</ref>
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*] was likely to activate and some users wanted to avoid the feature *] was likely to activate and some users wanted to avoid the feature
*The likelihood that ] would not launch in 2017 *The likelihood that ] would not launch in 2017

Once the SegWit2x hard fork was canceled many investors switch support to BCH.<ref name="abosu">{{Cite news |url=https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-vs-bitcoin-cash-can-both-survive |title=Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash: Can Both Survive? |author=Craig Adeyanju |accessdate=2 April 2018 |date=21 November 2017 |publisher=Cointelegraph }}</ref>


=== Development === === Development ===
The first implementation of the Bitcoin Cash protocol called ''Bitcoin ABC'' was revealed by Amaury "Deadal Nix" Séchet at the Future of Bitcoin conference in ].<ref name="bitmagAmaury201707"/> Subsequently, Bitcoin Unlimited made its first release of Bitcoin Cash compatible software, named BUCash<ref>{{cite web|title=BitcoinUnlimitedWebDownloads|url=https://github.com/BitcoinUnlimited/BitcoinUnlimitedWebDownloads/commit/40c45b24c785a1d487bff4b43f88bfeffbf6af32|accessdate=16 March 2018}}</ref> and Bitcoin XT also released before the activation of the Bitcoin Cash fork.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bitcoin XT Release G - Bitcoin Cash|url=https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-ml/2017-July/000071.html|accessdate=16 March 2018}}</ref> This meant that 3 full node clients were available before the Bitcoin Cash hard fork activated on August 1, 2017. The first implementation of the Bitcoin Cash protocol called ''Bitcoin ABC'' was revealed by Amaury "Deadal Nix" Séchet at the Future of Bitcoin conference in ].<ref name="wibch"/><ref name="bitmagAmaury201707"/> Subsequently, Bitcoin Unlimited made its first release of Bitcoin Cash compatible software, named BUCash<ref>{{cite web|title=BitcoinUnlimitedWebDownloads|url=https://github.com/BitcoinUnlimited/BitcoinUnlimitedWebDownloads/commit/40c45b24c785a1d487bff4b43f88bfeffbf6af32|accessdate=16 March 2018}}</ref> and Bitcoin XT also released before the activation of the Bitcoin Cash fork.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bitcoin XT Release G - Bitcoin Cash|url=https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-ml/2017-July/000071.html|accessdate=16 March 2018}}</ref> This meant that 3 full node clients were available before the Bitcoin Cash hard fork activated on August 1, 2017.


These initial clients implemented the following differences from bitcoin code which caused a blockchain split and therefore a separate Bitcoin Cash currency: These initial clients implemented the following differences from bitcoin code which caused a blockchain split and therefore a separate Bitcoin Cash currency:
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== Market acceptance and naming == == Market acceptance and naming ==
] for major cryptocurrencies in December 2017]]

=== Cryptocurrency exchanges === === Cryptocurrency exchanges ===


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Cryptocurrency wallets such as the Ledger hardware wallet,<ref>{{cite web|title=Cryptocurrencies|url=https://www.ledgerwallet.com/cryptocurrencies|website=ledgerwallet.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> KeepKey hardware wallet,<ref>{{cite web|title=Bitcoin Cash Update 8/29/17|url=https://support.keepkey.com/support/solutions/articles/24000012739-bitcoin-cash-update-8-29-17|website=keepkey.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> Electron Cash software wallet<ref>{{cite web|title=Electron Cash|url=https://electroncash.org/|website=electroncash.org|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> and Bitcoin.com software wallet<ref>{{cite web|title=Get a Free Wallet|url=https://www.bitcoin.com/choose-your-wallet/bitcoin-com-wallet|website=bitcoin.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> use the name Bitcoin Cash for the cryptocurrency, using either BCH or BCC ticker symbol for it. Trezor hardware wallet supports Bitcoin Cash too.<ref>{{cite web|title=Which coins are currently supported?|url=https://doc.satoshilabs.com/trezor-faq/overview.html#which-coins-are-currently-supported|website=satoshilabs.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> ] is one of the largest bitcoin wallet providers. They integrated Bitcoin Cash a few months after its fork.<ref name="btsbc">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bitcoin.com/blockchain-info-to-support-bitcoin-cash/ |title=Blockchain.info to Support Bitcoin Cash |author=Sterlin Lujan |accessdate=14 March 2018 |date=23 August 2017 |publisher=Bitcoin.com }}</ref> Cryptocurrency wallets such as the Ledger hardware wallet,<ref>{{cite web|title=Cryptocurrencies|url=https://www.ledgerwallet.com/cryptocurrencies|website=ledgerwallet.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> KeepKey hardware wallet,<ref>{{cite web|title=Bitcoin Cash Update 8/29/17|url=https://support.keepkey.com/support/solutions/articles/24000012739-bitcoin-cash-update-8-29-17|website=keepkey.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> Electron Cash software wallet<ref>{{cite web|title=Electron Cash|url=https://electroncash.org/|website=electroncash.org|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> and Bitcoin.com software wallet<ref>{{cite web|title=Get a Free Wallet|url=https://www.bitcoin.com/choose-your-wallet/bitcoin-com-wallet|website=bitcoin.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> use the name Bitcoin Cash for the cryptocurrency, using either BCH or BCC ticker symbol for it. Trezor hardware wallet supports Bitcoin Cash too.<ref>{{cite web|title=Which coins are currently supported?|url=https://doc.satoshilabs.com/trezor-faq/overview.html#which-coins-are-currently-supported|website=satoshilabs.com|accessdate=18 December 2017}}</ref> ] is one of the largest bitcoin wallet providers. They integrated Bitcoin Cash a few months after its fork.<ref name="btsbc">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bitcoin.com/blockchain-info-to-support-bitcoin-cash/ |title=Blockchain.info to Support Bitcoin Cash |author=Sterlin Lujan |accessdate=14 March 2018 |date=23 August 2017 |publisher=Bitcoin.com }}</ref>


== Supporters == == Support ==


Notable supporters of Bitcoin Cash include investor ],<ref name="nyt-split" /> entrepreneur ],<ref>{{cite web | last = Suberg | first = William | title = Bitcoin Jesus, Calvin Ayre Media Say Bitcoin Cash Is The Only Blockchain | publisher = The Coin Telegraph | date = 18 October 2017 | url =https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-jesus-calvin-ayre-media-say-bitcoin-cash-is-the-only-blockchain}}</ref> developer ],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lee|first1=Timothy B.|title=Bitcoin rival Bitcoin Cash soars as Coinbase adds support|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/bitcoin-rival-bitcoin-cash-soars-as-coinbase-adds-support/|accessdate=11 March 2018|work=ArsTechnica|date=20 December 2017}}</ref> entrepreneur ],<ref name="whatif">{{cite web |url=http://falkvinge.net/2017/11/17/new-google-management-decided-search-cost-20-take-eight-hours-deliberately-unreliable-bitcoin/ |title=What if new Google management decided that a search should cost $20, take eight hours, and be deliberately unreliable? (Bitcoin.) |date=17 November 2017 |work=Falkvinge on Liberty |accessdate=11 March 2018 }}</ref> and the self-proclaimed inventor of bitcoin ].<ref name="spbc">{{Cite news |url=https://cointelegraph.com/news/controversial-figure-craig-wright-says-2018-will-be-bchs-year |title=Self-proclaimed Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright: 2018 Will Be BCH’s Year |author=Joshua Althauser |accessdate=14 March 2018 |date=11 December 2017 |work=Coin Telegraph }}</ref> ] has indicated his support for Bitcoin Cash as he emphasised its property as a ].<ref>(11 November 2017). . Retrieved 31 March 2018.</ref><ref name="gats">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bitcoin.com/satoshi-nakamotos-confidant-gavin-andresen-throws-support-behind-bitcoin-cash/ |title=Satoshi Nakamoto’s Confidant Gavin Andresen Throws Support Behind Bitcoin Cash |author=Samuel Haig |accessdate=31 March 2018 |date=12 November 2017 |work=news.bitcoin.com }}</ref> ] has indicated his views on the legitimacy of Bitcoin Cash in a series of tweets.<ref name="vbde">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newsbtc.com/2017/11/14/66317/ |title=Vitalik Buterin Deems Bitcoin Cash Worthy of Taking the Bitcoin Name |author=JP Buntinx |accessdate=31 March 2018 |date=14 November 2017 |publisher=News BTC }}</ref> He explained that not increasing the block size and not retaining reasonable fee prices was not part of the original plan. Notable supporters of Bitcoin Cash include investor ],<ref name="nyt-split" /> entrepreneur ],<ref>{{cite web | last = Suberg | first = William | title = Bitcoin Jesus, Calvin Ayre Media Say Bitcoin Cash Is The Only Blockchain | publisher = The Coin Telegraph | date = 18 October 2017 | url =https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-jesus-calvin-ayre-media-say-bitcoin-cash-is-the-only-blockchain}}</ref> developer ],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lee|first1=Timothy B.|title=Bitcoin rival Bitcoin Cash soars as Coinbase adds support|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/bitcoin-rival-bitcoin-cash-soars-as-coinbase-adds-support/|accessdate=11 March 2018|work=ArsTechnica|date=20 December 2017}}</ref> entrepreneur ],<ref name="whatif">{{cite web |url=http://falkvinge.net/2017/11/17/new-google-management-decided-search-cost-20-take-eight-hours-deliberately-unreliable-bitcoin/ |title=What if new Google management decided that a search should cost $20, take eight hours, and be deliberately unreliable? (Bitcoin.) |date=17 November 2017 |work=Falkvinge on Liberty |accessdate=11 March 2018 }}</ref> and the self-proclaimed inventor of bitcoin ].<ref name="spbc">{{Cite news |url=https://cointelegraph.com/news/controversial-figure-craig-wright-says-2018-will-be-bchs-year |title=Self-proclaimed Bitcoin Creator Craig Wright: 2018 Will Be BCH’s Year |author=Joshua Althauser |accessdate=14 March 2018 |date=11 December 2017 |work=Coin Telegraph }}</ref> ] has indicated his support for Bitcoin Cash as he emphasised its property as a ].<ref>(11 November 2017). . Retrieved 31 March 2018.</ref><ref name="gats">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bitcoin.com/satoshi-nakamotos-confidant-gavin-andresen-throws-support-behind-bitcoin-cash/ |title=Satoshi Nakamoto’s Confidant Gavin Andresen Throws Support Behind Bitcoin Cash |author=Samuel Haig |accessdate=31 March 2018 |date=12 November 2017 |work=news.bitcoin.com }}</ref> ] has indicated his views on the legitimacy of Bitcoin Cash in a series of tweets.<ref name="vbde">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newsbtc.com/2017/11/14/66317/ |title=Vitalik Buterin Deems Bitcoin Cash Worthy of Taking the Bitcoin Name |author=JP Buntinx |accessdate=31 March 2018 |date=14 November 2017 |publisher=News BTC }}</ref> He explained that not increasing the block size and not retaining reasonable fee prices was not part of the original plan.
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== See also == == See also ==

*] *]
* ] *]


== References == == References ==

Revision as of 01:10, 2 April 2018

Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin Cash
Logo
Denominations
CodeBCH
Precision10
Subunits
 1⁄100000000satoshi
Development
Implementation(s)BitcoinABC, Bitcoin Unlimited, Bitcoin XT
Project fork ofbitcoin
Ledger
Genesis blockJanuary 3, 2009 (16 years ago) (2009-01-03)
Block #1January 9, 2009 (16 years ago) (2009-01-09)
First block after split (block #478559)August 1, 2017 (7 years ago) (2017-08-01)
Timestamping schemeProof-of-work (partial hash inversion)
Hash functionSHA-256
Issuance scheduledecentralized, block reward
Block reward12.5 BCH
Block time10 minutes
Block explorerblockchair.com/bitcoin-cash/blocks
Supply limit21,000,000 BCH
Valuation
Exchange rateDecrease 994.62 USD (as of 10 March 2018)
Website
Websitebitcoincash.org
  1. Not to be confused with BCC, which is BitConnect Coin.
  2. from July 2016 to approximately June 2020, halved approximately every four years

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency useful for making payments. It is Bitcoin's most successful spin-off and its adoption by investors was quick. Bitcoin Cash is a result of a prolonged disagreement on how to handle the bitcoin scalability problem. A group of influential miners, developers and investors not content with the Segregated Witness feature scheduled to activate decided to increase bitcoin transaction capacity eight times. The change, called a hard fork, took effect on August 1, 2017. As a result, the bitcoin ledger called the blockchain and the cryptocurrency split in two.

Bitcoin Cash retained the decentralization of bitcoin as well as its other main characteristics with two distinctions. The maximum block size (transaction processing capacity) was increased to eight megabytes from one and an emergency difficulty adjustment feature was added. A second change to the difficulty adjustment algorithm to steady the rate of block production was implemented in November 2017.

Whereas the original Bitcoin is developing into a store of value Bitcoin Cash aims to be a medium of exchange as originally described in the Bitcoin whitepaper. At the time of the fork anyone owning bitcoin was also in possession of the same number of Bitcoin Cash units.

History

In May 2017, bitcoin transactions were taking days to complete. Users were paying higher transaction fees, making payments for small purchases unfeasible.

Idea forms

Up until July 2017, bitcoin users maintained a common set of rules for the cryptocurrency. On July 20, 2017 at block height 476768 Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 91 was locked in (i.e. scheduled to activate at block height 477120). It was designed to reject blocks created by miners not supporting Segregated Witness.

Some members of the bitcoin community felt that adopting BIP 91 without increasing the block-size limit favored people who wanted to treat bitcoin as a digital investment rather than as a transactional currency. According to the Bitcoin Core roadmap fast and cheap payments are a secondary priority, whereas BCH places the focus on payments as the highest priority. The belief underlying this is that adoption comes through utility and that reduced fees facilitate the goal of reliable transactions. This places BCH in competition with many existing payment methods such as Paypal and Visa.

The plan to do a hard fork was proposed by the Bitcoin Unlimited group in BUIP055 on May 10, 2017. This proposal was passed on June 3, 2017 with 21 votes for and 0 against. Early work occurred in the Bitcoin Unlimited repository or in clones; documentation work used the term UAHF on June 6, 2017, although code often used the term BUIP055.

On June 14, 2017 the mining company Bitmain posted on their corporate blog a post titled UAHF: A contingency plan against UASF (BIP148), in which the ASIC bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer published the hard fork specifications and promised mining support if BIP 148 (a User Activated Soft Fork) succeeded. Subsequently, some developers took interest in the project. The Bitcoin Cash name was originally proposed by Chinese mining pool ViaBTC.

A stated goal of the fork was to increase the number of transactions its ledger can process by increasing the block size limit to eight megabytes. CoinDesk said that these motivations might have been behind the development and launch of Bitcoin Cash:

  • Some users wanted an increase in bitcoin's block size limit parameter
  • SegWit was likely to activate and some users wanted to avoid the feature
  • The likelihood that SegWit2x would not launch in 2017

Once the SegWit2x hard fork was canceled many investors switch support to BCH.

Development

The first implementation of the Bitcoin Cash protocol called Bitcoin ABC was revealed by Amaury "Deadal Nix" Séchet at the Future of Bitcoin conference in Arnhem, Netherlands. Subsequently, Bitcoin Unlimited made its first release of Bitcoin Cash compatible software, named BUCash and Bitcoin XT also released before the activation of the Bitcoin Cash fork. This meant that 3 full node clients were available before the Bitcoin Cash hard fork activated on August 1, 2017.

These initial clients implemented the following differences from bitcoin code which caused a blockchain split and therefore a separate Bitcoin Cash currency:

  • Increase maximum block size to eight megabytes
  • Modification of transaction signature hashing algorithm. This provided replay protection, fixed some forms of transaction malleability, and made hardware wallets much simpler to implement.
  • Modification of the algorithm that determines a block's proof-of-work difficulty (called EDA or Emergency Difficulty Adjustment algorithm).

Launch

Upon launch, Bitcoin Cash inherited the transaction history of the bitcoin cryptocurrency on that date, but all later transactions were separate. Block 478558 was the last common block and thus the first Bitcoin Cash block was 478559. Bitcoin Cash cryptocurrency wallets started to reject bitcoin blocks and bitcoin transactions after 13:20 UTC, August 1, 2017 because it used a timer to initiate a fork. It implements a block size increase to 8 MB. One exchange started Bitcoin Cash futures trading at 0.5 BTC on July 23; the futures dropped to 0.1 BTC by July 30. Market cap appeared since 23:15 UTC, August 1, 2017.

Move of hashpower and difficulty adjustment

On August 9, 2017 it was 30% more profitable to mine on the bitcoin chain. As both chains use the same proof-of-work algorithm, miners can easily move their hashpower between the two. As of August 30, 2017 around 1,500 more blocks were mined on the Bitcoin Cash chain than on the original one as the high profitability periods attracted a significant proportion of total processing power. Due to the new Emergency Difficulty Adjustment (EDA) algorithm used by Bitcoin Cash, mining difficulty fluctuated rapidly, and the most profitable chain to mine switched repeatedly between Bitcoin Cash and mainline bitcoin.

A fix for these difficulty, hashrate, and profitability fluctuations was introduced on November 13, 2017 at 7:06 p.m. UTC. The EDA algorithm has been replaced with a new difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) that hopes to prevent extreme fluctuations in difficulty while still allowing Bitcoin Cash to adapt to hashrate changes faster than the original bitcoin algorithm adjusting the difficulty every 2016 blocks.

Market acceptance and naming

Market capitalization for major cryptocurrencies in December 2017

Cryptocurrency exchanges

Bitcoin Cash has been adopted by digital currency exchanges. Exchanges such as Coinbase, CEX.IO, Kraken, ShapeShift and many others use the Bitcoin Cash name and the BCH ticker symbol for the cryptocurrency. Bitstamp and Bitfinex temporarily used the name Bcash, but after being criticized, they switched the name back to Bitcoin Cash.

Bittrex, Binance, and Huobi exchange use BCC as Bitcoin Cash's ticker symbol instead. BCC is more commonly used as the ticker symbol for Bitconnect.

Cryptocurrency wallets

While the alphanumeric address style is the same as bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash should not be sent to a bitcoin address. Like bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash addresses can be used more than once, but should not be reused if privacy is a concern.

Cryptocurrency wallets such as the Ledger hardware wallet, KeepKey hardware wallet, Electron Cash software wallet and Bitcoin.com software wallet use the name Bitcoin Cash for the cryptocurrency, using either BCH or BCC ticker symbol for it. Trezor hardware wallet supports Bitcoin Cash too. Blockchain.info is one of the largest bitcoin wallet providers. They integrated Bitcoin Cash a few months after its fork.

Support

Notable supporters of Bitcoin Cash include investor Roger Ver, entrepreneur Calvin Ayre, developer Gavin Andresen, entrepreneur Rick Falkvinge, and the self-proclaimed inventor of bitcoin Craig Steven Wright. Gavin Andresen has indicated his support for Bitcoin Cash as he emphasised its property as a medium of exchange. Vitalik Buterin has indicated his views on the legitimacy of Bitcoin Cash in a series of tweets. He explained that not increasing the block size and not retaining reasonable fee prices was not part of the original plan.

Applications

Founder of yours.org Ryan X Charles switched to Bitcoin Cash for micropayments after initially planning on using bitcoin. Charles switched because using bitcoin became unfeasible for micropayments due to its high fees. OpenBazaar integrated Bitcoin Cash in February 2018. In December 2017 the Dream Market dark web marketplace allowed vendors to accept Bitcoin Cash for payments. It was one of the first dark web sites to do so. BitPay, the largest bitcoin payment processor, integrated Bitcoin Cash into its Visa debit card. The Joystream BitTorrent client uses Bitcoin Cash to enable the boosting of torrent downloads. Several bots on Reddit allow users to exchange BCH with each other in the form of tips, including Tippr, Chaintip and Fairlay.

Tax implications

Americans wondering whether their acquisition of Bitcoin Cash is taxable as income, or not taxable as a division of property, have received no guidance from the Internal Revenue Service.

See also

References

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