Bitcoin Cash: What It Is, How It Differs from Bitcoin, and What You Need to Know

When you hear Bitcoin Cash, a peer-to-peer electronic cash system created in 2017 as a direct fork of Bitcoin. Also known as BCH, it was built to fix Bitcoin’s slow and expensive transactions by increasing block sizes. Unlike Bitcoin, which prioritizes security and scarcity over speed, Bitcoin Cash focuses on being usable money — not just digital gold. It lets you send payments quickly and cheaply, even during peak times, because its blocks can hold more data. This isn’t theoretical — real people use it every day to pay for coffee, tip streamers, or send money across borders without bank fees.

Bitcoin Cash doesn’t need complex layer-two solutions like the Lightning Network to work. It’s designed to handle payments on-chain, right from the start. That’s why it’s often called the "true" Bitcoin by its supporters — because it follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision of a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. But it’s not without controversy. Critics say bigger blocks make mining less decentralized, and that it sacrifices security for speed. The truth? Both sides have points. What matters is what you need: a store of value, or a tool for daily spending.

Bitcoin Cash also has its own ecosystem. You’ll find wallets like Electron Cash and exchanges like Binance and Kraken that support it. There are even merchants in countries like Japan, Venezuela, and Nigeria that accept BCH for goods and services. It’s not as widely adopted as Bitcoin or Ethereum, but it’s steady — and growing in places where traditional finance is unreliable. You won’t see flashy DeFi apps or NFTs built on BCH, and that’s by design. It’s focused on one thing: being money.

Some of the posts below dig into how Bitcoin Cash compares to other coins — like whether it’s better than Bitcoin for payments, or if it’s just another fork that lost steam. Others look at exchanges that support it, or how to safely store and use BCH without getting scammed. You’ll also find real examples of people using it, not just talking about it. If you’re trying to understand why Bitcoin Cash still exists — and whether it’s worth your attention — this collection cuts through the noise. No hype. Just facts, use cases, and what actually happens when you send BCH.