Skip to main content

What Is Bitcoin Cash? Is It Different From Bitcoin?

By October 29, 2020May 9th, 20234 minute read

The battle of supremacy between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash has been going on for quite some time now. This contradiction has split the unified crypto community of Bitcoin into two, following a hard fork. The debate concerning these two cryptos often gets heated, and this ends up confusing the investors even more. The confusion level is even bigger for novice investors who need to take the pick amongst multiple Bitcoin versions by analyzing and differentiating amongst them. Both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have proposed varied means of tackling increased traffic with more efficiency. While Bitcoin Cash has opted to increase the block size, Bitcoin has chosen the Lightning Network, a second-layer solution. Only time can tell who wins the crown of popularity, but as of now, Bitcoin remains to be the dominant cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin

The world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was the brainchild of Satoshi Nakamoto. It has been around since 2009 and has helped worldwide buying, selling, and trading in goods, services, and other investments. In stark contrast to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, Bitcoin is not regulated by any central authority. Rather the transactions are verified using computers, which can be owned even by the general public. The transactions are created in blocks that get verified by computers on solving complicated math problems. There is an upper cap of 21 million on the maximum amount of Bitcoin that can be created. Presently, more than 18 million Bitcoins are in existence, and it will take pretty long for the remaining to be placed into circulation, as every four years, the Bitcoins are reduced to half every block. If you are thinking of how to buy bitcoin in India then you need to initially get your KYC verified as this is a basic requirement of any bitcoin exchange. 

Get WazirX News First

Bitcoin Cash

From the very onset of Bitcoin’s existence, the network started revealing signs of weakness. It failed to handle adequate transactions per second, which could compete with centralized payment systems such as Visa. An increase in transactions around the globe caused Bitcoin to hike up their average transaction fee to $55 by the end of 2017. This scaling issue was addressed by numerous off-scaling solutions, including the Lightning Network, as well as, other side-chain scaling options. Blockchain developer Amaury Séchet came up with the concept of Bitcoin ABC to keep scaling on-chain. The fork of Bitcoin protocol was initiated in August 2017, and it was completed after the Segregated Witness (SegWit) update was launched for improving Bitcoin’s scalability slightly. Bitcoin Cash was produced out of this fork and the resulting crypto adhered to the original Bitcoin codebase while removing the implications of the SegWit upgrade. The maximum block size was also increased to 8MB from the initial 2MB following the fork. This allowed for greater data processing per transaction. Bitcoin Cash as a currency, operates in the same way as that of Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin Vs Bitcoin Cash

  • Bitcoin has presently become a store of value, whereas Bitcoin Cash is considered to be a means of exchange.
  • Bitcoin Cash levies an average transaction fee of $0.023, which allows users to ring in more savings compared to Bitcoin trading. 
  • The transfer time of Bitcoin Cash is significantly lower than Bitcoin, which might require around 10 minutes to verify a single transaction. 
  • A big point of difference between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash is the upper limit on block size for each network. The size of each block for Bitcoin is roughly 1MB. But blocks of bigger sizes have been successfully mined following the SegWit upgrade. The maximum block size of Bitcoin Cash is 32, which has helped enhance the network’s speed by increasing the number of transactions comprising each block. 
  • The 10-minute average block discovery span implemented initially by Bitcoin has also been retained by Bitcoin Cash. This paves the path for almost similar transaction confirmation times between both the chains. But the bigger size of the Bitcoin Cash block allows a greater number of transactions to be squeezed into each block. The Bitcoin Cash network can undertake approximately 100 transactions per second, which is significantly superior to Bitcoin processing 7 transactions per second (increased to 14 transactions per second following SegWit).
  • Bitcoin Cash comes with additional functions or commands, which are known as opcodes. Different opcodes disabled back in 2018 from Bitcoin were re-enabled for the Bitcoin Cash chain along with brand new additions. This difference offers Bitcoin Cash with enhanced smart contract functionality compared to Bitcoin. 

Final Words

The value of cryptocurrencies might vary according to their level of popularity and degree of usage. Bitcoin Cash was incubated with the dream of filling up the lacunas of Bitcoin and it is expected that it shall surpass the popularity of Bitcoin to snatch the numero-uno spot of the crypto market in days to come. On the first instance, Bitcoin Cash might seem like the better fit for all your cryptocurrency needs. Nevertheless, it carries certain inherent weaknesses which you need to take note of before relying on BCH

Bitcoin Cash doesn’t rank very high in terms of investor confidence, given its relatively new operation. As a result, its market penetration and adoption rate are comparatively lower than Bitcoin. The mining rate is the same for both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. But if you buy Bitcoin Cash, then you will have to pay significantly lower than the rate payable to buy bitcoin in India. This also brings down the profit percentage of BCH miners compared to Bitcoin mining with the same equipment set. 

The tradability of Bitcoin Cash is less compared to Bitcoin as it has significantly less trading pairs. Most cryptocurrencies are traded against Bitcoin, and this has led to its massive popularity. The large Bitcoin community offers an advantage over Bitcoin Cash despite the former’s slow transaction speeds and lack of a clear resolution.

Also you can download the app and Start Trading Now!

Android App – Cryptocurrency Exchange

iOS App – ‎WazirX

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does Bitcoin Work?

The blockchain, a distributed digital ledger, is what Bitcoin is based on. As the name suggests, blockchain is a linked database made up of blocks that store information about each transaction, such as the date and time, total amount, buyer and seller, and a unique identifier for each exchange. Entries are linked in chronological order to form a digital blockchain. Entries are linked in chronological order to form a digital blockchain. Blockchain is decentralized, which means any central authority does not control it.

How Many Bitcoins Are There?

There are 18,730,931.25 Bitcoins in circulation as of June 2021. The total number of Bitcoins that would ever be there is just 21 million. On average, 144 blocks are mined every day, with 6.25 Bitcoins per block. The average number of new Bitcoins mined every day is 900, calculated by multiplying 144 by 6.25.

How To Create Bitcoin Account?

Firstly, Go to the WazirX website and sign up. Then, a verification mail will be sent to you. The link sent via verification mail would be available only for a few seconds so make sure you click on the link sent to you as soon as possible, and it will verify your email address successfully. The next step is to set up security, so select the most suitable option for you. After you have set up the security, you will get a choice to either proceed further with or without completing the KYC procedure. After that, you will be directed to the Funds and Transfer page, where you could start depositing Bitcoins to your wallet. You can also deposit INR and then use it to buy Bitcoin for your WazirX Bitcoin wallet.

What Is Meant By Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that was initially released in January 2009. It is based on ideas offered by Satoshi Nakamoto, a mysterious and pseudonymous figure, in a whitepaper. The name of the person or individuals who invented technology has not been revealed. Bitcoin promises lower transaction fees than other online payment systems, and unlike government-issued currencies, it is decentralized.

Can Bitcoin Be Converted To Real Money?

Crypto exchanges, Bitcoin ATMs, Bitcoin Debit Cards, and Peer Peer Transactions are all options for converting Bitcoin to cash. This can be accomplished by using Bitcoin exchanges such as WazirX. A Bitcoin ATM is a real place where you may purchase and sell Bitcoins with cash, unlike standard ATMs that allow you to withdraw money from your bank account. Many websites provide the option of purchasing Bitcoin in return for a prepaid debit card that works similarly to a standard debit card. Through a peer-to-peer marketplace, you may sell Bitcoin for cash faster and more privately.

How Can I Convert Bitcoins To Cash?

Bitcoin may be converted to cash in various ways, including crypto exchanges, Bitcoin ATMs, Bitcoin Debit Cards, and Peer to Peer Transactions. You may do this by using Bitcoin exchanges like WazirX. You may also sell Bitcoin for cash faster and more anonymously through a peer-to-peer marketplace.

How Much Is 1 Bitcoin Worth Today?

Check out the current price of Bitcoin on the WazirX exchange. Bitcoin's value is primarily determined by its supply and demand in the market. Other elements have an impact on its worth. Its intrinsic value can also be calculated by calculating the average marginal cost of producing a Bitcoin at any given time, based on the block reward, electricity price, mining hardware energy efficiency, and mining difficulty.

What Type Of Currency Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency or cryptocurrency. In January 2009, Bitcoin was established. It's based on Satoshi Nakamoto's ideas, which he laid out in a whitepaper. The name of the individual or people who invented the technology remains unknown.

Is Bitcoin A Good Investment For The Future?

Some investors are afraid of the risks or devastation, but others are very eager to pursue the possibility of profit from a Bitcoin investment. A Bitcoin investment is similar to stock investing, except it can be more volatile.

Who Created Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the first application of the concept of "cryptocurrency," first articulated in 1998 on the cypherpunks mailing list by Wei Dai, who proposed a new form of money that relies on cryptography rather than a central authority to manage its creation and transactions. Satoshi Nakamoto published the initial Bitcoin specification and proof of concept on the cryptography mailing list in 2009. Satoshi exited the project in late 2010, with little information about himself available. Since then, the community has evolved, with numerous people working on Bitcoin. Satoshi's anonymity has sparked unfounded fears, many of which may be traced back to a misunderstanding of Bitcoin's open-source nature.

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is currently unregulated. Kindly ensure that you undertake sufficient risk assessment when trading cryptocurrencies as they are often subject to high price volatility. The information provided in this section doesn't represent any investment advice or WazirX's official position. WazirX reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend or change this blog post at any time and for any reasons without prior notice.
Participate in the Indian Crypto Movement. Share:

Leave a Reply

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.