What is Bitcoin?
Before looking at Bitcoin Cash, let’s quickly refresh our knowledge in Bitcoin (BTC).
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was launched in 2009 by a mysterious person or a group under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Unlike centralized finance, Bitcoin is based on a decentralized system without middlemen such as banks. Transactions are verified through nodes in the network through cryptography and recorded in a public ledger, blockchain. Unlike centralized financial systems, anyone can have an access to a blockchain. Learn more about Bitcoin in this article.
How Was Bitcoin Cash Created?
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a hard fork of Bitcoin that was created in 2017; it was made to overcome Bitcoin’s scalability issues. Bitcoin developer Pieter Wuille proposed the Segregated Witness (SegWit) improvement in 2015. This improvement was to decrease the Bitcoin transaction size of each transaction so that more transactions occur concurrently. Some users and developers were against the updates associated with SegWit and started a hard fork which gave rise to Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
As of April 2021, Bitcoin Cash is the 9th cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization with 17 billion dollars (CoinMarketCap). In November 2018, there was another derivation of Bitcoin (hard fork) resulting in Bitcoin SV. Bitcoin SV adheres to Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision of Bitcoin as described in the bitcoin white paper and has modifications to facilitate scalability.
It is different from Bitcoin in that digital signature data for each transaction was removed. As a result, the data that needs to be verified in each block is smaller, and having it attached in the elongated block.
Furthermore, the number of transactions for Bitcoin Cash that its ledger can process (maximum block size) was increased to 32 MB in 2018 from the initial 8MB, while the maximum number of transactions for Bitcoin is 1MB. We are going to take a closer look at the differences and similarities between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash below.
The Differences and Similarities between Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
| Crypto | Market Cap | Average Block Size | Maximum block size | Signature data for each transaction | Price | Confirmed transaction per second | Average transaction fee | Purpose | Time stamping scheme | Cryptocurrency type |
| Bitcoin | U.S. $1 trillion (CoinMarketCap)* | 1.3 MB (Blockchain)* | 1MB | needs signature data | U.S. $55,887 (Bitcoin)* | 2.31 (Bitcoin data)* | U.S. $58.42 (BitInfoCharts)* | decentralized digital payment system | Proof-of-Work | based on Bitcoin |
| Bitcoin Cash | U.S. $17 billion (CoinMarketCap)* | 8.8 MB (BitInfoCharts)* | 32MB | does not need signature data | U.S. $903 (Bitcoin)* | 3.49 (Bitcoin data)* | U.S. $0.0096 (BitInfoCharts)* | decentralized digital payment system, but mainly used for daily transactions (electronic cash) | Proof-of-Work | based on Bitcoin |
*All data were accessed on April 13th, 2021, 11:00 EST
The Differences and Similarities between Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin
| Crypto | Market Cap | Transaction Speed | Price | Average cost per transaction | Transactions in the last 24 hours | Transaction average per hour | Cryptocurrency type | Cytographic algorithm | Time stamping scheme | Purpose |
| Bitcoin Cash | U.S. $17 billion (CoinMarketCap)* | 10 min (Wikipedia)* | U.S. $903 (BitInfoCharts)* | U.S. $0.0096 (BitInfoCharts)* | 300,579 (BitInfoCharts)* | 12,524 (BitInfoCharts)* | based on Bitcoin | SHA-256 | Proof-of-Work | decentralized digital payment system with focus on daily transactions |
| Litecoin | U.S. $17.8 billion (CoinMarketCap)* | 2.5 min (Wikipedia)* | U.S. $257 (BitInfoCharts)* | U.S. $0.05 (BitInfoCharts)* | 123,386 (BitInfoCharts)* | 5,122 (BitInfoCharts)* | independent | Scrypt | Proof-of-Work | decentralized digital payment system with focus on daily transactions |
*All data were accessed on April 13th, 2021, 11:00 EST
Discussions around BCH as Electronic Cash
In March 2021, Kim Dotcom, a digital entrepreneur, mentioned the difference of transaction fees between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash on his twitter. Dotcom said “when you try to buy a soda the median fee is $8.92 for Bitcoin, whereas the bitcoin cash’s median fee is $0.001″. For these reasons, Dotcom said bitcoin cash will serve the mass market (Bitcoin News). This brought another discussion from Cobra, the owner of bitcoin.org, that the fees for Bitcoin are minor when Bitcoin is used to buy more extravagant items such as a car.
Dotcom also explains why Bitcoin Cash is beneficial. On his website (Why Bitcoin Cash), he explains how it is more like “the digital equivalent of cash” whereas Bitcoin is like “the digital equivalent of gold.” On his website, Dotcom mentions the global transaction market is roughly around 3 trillion transactions per year. 75% are cash transactions, 13% are credit cards and another 12% are some other forms of payment. He said if Bitcoin Cash could capture 1% of the global transaction, Bitcoin Cash will take 82 million transactions per day.
In April 2021, Smart Bitcoin Cash (SmartBCH) was launched as a side chain for Bitcoin Cash that is compatible with Ethereum’s EVM and Web3 API. This project is to decrease the transaction fees of Ethereum. As of April 20th, 2021, 8:00 EST, the transaction fee for Ethereum is $USD 30.45 (BitInfoCharts). In addition, the project aims to accelerate the transaction process of Smart Bitcoin Cash as one billion gas every 15 seconds.
On the other hand, Andrew Stone mentions on Bitcoin Cash Network Discussions that Bitcoin Cash is “Bitcoin without upward movement advantage and the hype from the press”. If Bitcoin Cash did not scale to Bitcoin, he is not sure whether Smart Bitcoin Cash is going to scale to Ethereum. He believes Smart Bitcoin Cash is going to be “a side chain which [only] users of Smart Bitcoin Cash can take advantage of. [that will lead to] Ethereum without a first move advantage.”
Where to Spend Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoinmap is a platform that is based on a web and a mobile app for Android that tells the users where they can spend Bitcoin Cash (Bitcoinmap). It is an interactive map that shows usage mostly in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
On Bitcoin.com maps, users can search for nearby locations where they can spend Bitcoin Cash (Bitcoin Maps). For example, I can find that a realtor in Oshawa and a cell phone and a laptop repair company in Scarborough accept Bitcoin Cash as a form of payment.
Where to Buy and Sell Bitcoin Cash
You can buy Bitcoin Cash directly from another individual in person or over the web.
Another way is to find a crypto ATM that offers Bitcoin Cash. However, the transaction fee could be extortionate, and you might want to compare several machines.
The most straightforward way to buy Bitcoin Cash is through a trading platform. There are a few things to consider before choosing one, including: trading fees, pricing, and reliability. VirgoCX offers one of the best prices in Canada for Bitcoin Cash and many other cryptocurrencies with zero trading fees. VirgoCX is also known for reliability and access to direct banking.
How to Buy Bitcoin Cash on VirgoCX
You can create an account with VirgoCX (VirgoCX). You can put an email address and a user name for a start. It is as easy as ABC.
Once you have created your account, you will need to verify your account. All you need to do is provide your name, date of birth, and other basic information. Remember VirgoCX is a reliable platform with some of the best pricing in Canada.
Then, you need to deposit funds to your VirgoCX account. Funding is as simple as sending an e-transfer. Once your fund is in, you can buy Bitcoin Cash, or any other cryptocurrencies. VirgoCX has a great selection of different cryptocurrencies for Canadians, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Litecoin, Stellar, USDC, EOS, DAI, DOGE, Uniswap, Paxos Gold, Chainlink, Curve, and AAVE. VirgoCX has an attractive fee system including 0% trading fees and low withdrawal fees.
The VirgoCX Referral program allows users to earn 30 Canadian dollars per referral. If you introduce your friend to VirgoCX, you and your friend can earn 30 Canadian dollars. If you have more referrals, you can earn more money. Start referring now.
Referring is simple. Once you login to your VirgoCX account, click on invite on the left navigation bar. You can then copy and share your referral link with your friend.
About Author: Jiwon Angela Son is a writer at VirgoCX. She is a marketing professional who has sales, marketing, and advertising experience in innovation-driven industries for 12 years. Prior to working at VirgoCX, she was a marketer at global pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb and Actelion Pharmaceuticals. Twitter
Disclaimer: No Investment Advice The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and are not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as, investment advice, financial advice or trading advice. There are substantial risks associated with the trading of cryptocurrencies and you should consult with a licensed financial advisor prior to making any trading or investment decisions. Content Not Warranted The contents of this article are provided “as is” and without warranties of any kind. You bear all risks associated with the use of the content provided including without limitation, any reliance on the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any content available within this article.
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