Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a decentralized cryptocurrency that operates on a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. It was "forked" from Bitcoin (BTC), the world's largest cryptocurrency, in 2017 due to a division over the protocol's future. A fork happens whenever a community makes a change to the blockchain's protocol or basic set of rules, which results in a new blockchain. In the case of Bitcoin Cash, the community set out to create a cryptocurrency that's better suited than Bitcoin for cheap, every day payments. Bitcoin itself, despite originally being named "Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash" in its whitepaper published in 2009, may not be well-suited for use as cash in everyday purchases due to its fees. Bitcoin Cash aims to scale to accommodate global payment system demands, with a block size of 32MB as of 2023, compared to Bitcoin's 1MB block size. The larger block size of Bitcoin Cash is intended to handle more transactions per second and aims to maintain lower fees.

Bitcoin Cash operates on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, similar to Bitcoin. Miners solve complex computational puzzles to validate transactions and create new blocks. The larger block size of Bitcoin Cash allows for faster transaction processing and aims to maintain lower fees compared to Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash also supports smart contracts and ecosystem apps. With a capped total supply of 21 million coins and a circulated supply of 19.56M tokens in November 2023, Bitcoin Cash has a limited supply and aims to facilitate easy transactions, with transactions typically costing less than a tenth of a cent.

Bitcoin Cash has a variety of potential use cases. It can be used for peer-to-peer payments between individuals and to pay participating merchants for goods and services both in-store and online. Its structure may support micro-transaction economies, such as tipping content creators and rewarding app users a few cents. Bitcoin Cash also seeks to streamline remittances and cross-border trade. Other potential use cases include tokens, simplified smart contracts, and private payments with tools such as CashShuffle and CashFusion.

Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 as an alternative to Bitcoin. The creation was a result of a disagreement within the Bitcoin community over scaling issues and the SegWit upgrade. A faction within the community proposed a hard fork to increase the block size limit, which led to the creation of Bitcoin Cash. The reason that Bitcoin Cash's technology was rejected by many Bitcoin developers and users is that a larger blockchain (that can support a greater number of transactions and thus cheaper transactions) comes with a key trade-off. A larger blockchain is harder to validate and store on thousands of computers around the world, which is the foundation of Bitcoin's decentralized nature (such as ensuring that no individual, company, or organization can tamper with Bitcoin's blockchain at its core). Since its inception, Bitcoin Cash has faced its own set of challenges and milestones, including a hard fork in November 2018 that led to the creation of Bitcoin SV (BSV), a separate cryptocurrency.

One way to use Bitcoin Cash is to find a merchant that accepts purchases via Coinbase Commerce. Coinbase Commerce enables merchants to accept Bitcoin Cash transactions easily.

Bitcoin Cash is available via many crypto exchanges and finance apps, including Coinbase.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin (BTC) are two distinct cryptocurrencies, each with its own goals and technological framework. Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 as a result of a hard fork from the Bitcoin blockchain, a process triggered by disagreements among developers and users about Bitcoin's future direction. The primary difference between the two lies in their approach to scalability and transaction processing. Bitcoin is limited by transaction processing time, a challenge that has caused rifts within its community. To address this, Bitcoin implemented a technology known as Segregated Witness (SegWit) in 2017, which reduced the amount of data needing verification in each block. On the other hand, Bitcoin Cash was initiated by Bitcoin miners and developers who were concerned about Bitcoin's scalability. They felt that SegWit did not meaningfully address the scalability issue. As a result, Bitcoin Cash was created with an increased block size of 8 MB (later increased to 32 MB in 2018), with the intention of potentially improving the verification process. This larger block size theoretically allows Bitcoin Cash to process transactions at a potentially improved pace, with the potential to impact wait times and transaction processing. However, Bitcoin has a substantial presence in the cryptocurrency market.

The block size debate is a contentious issue within the Bitcoin community that revolves around how to scale the Bitcoin network to accommodate a growing number of transactions. The block size refers to the maximum size of each block on the blockchain, which determines how many transactions can be processed at a given time. Some argue that increasing the block size is necessary for scalability, while others believe that it could compromise the decentralization and security of the network. Bitcoin Cash emerged with an intention to address this debate. It increased the block size from Bitcoin's 1MB to 8MB, with an intention to offer improvements in scalability by accommodating a larger number of transactions in each block. However, this approach has trade-offs, as larger blocks require more bandwidth and storage capacity, potentially leading to centralization. Bitcoin Cash seeks to balance these concerns by using a difficulty adjustment algorithm to ensure that blocks are intended to be generated at a consistent rate approximately every 10 minutes.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is designed with the potential for everyday transactions in mind. Bitcoin Cash has a larger block size than Bitcoin, which it aims to use to process more transactions per block, with the intention of reducing fees and transaction times. This feature is intended to enhance its transaction processing capabilities, such as facilitating non-monetary exchanges or tipping online creators. Bitcoin Cash is recognized by certain merchants worldwide and on various industry platforms. However, it's important to note that while Bitcoin Cash aims to function as a payment system, its recognition as a form of payment is not yet widespread.

Bitcoin Cash is designed with the intention of addressing security and potential vulnerabilities through the protocols of blockchain technology. These blockchains record transactions in the form of blocks that are time-stamped and verified through a public ledger. This entire procedure is carefully planned and involves numerous technical processes, forming a digital infrastructure of digital checks and balances that is designed with the intention of resisting undermining attempts. The blockchain is designed with the intention of resisting hacking attempts. Vulnerabilities often exploited are typically found in third-party service providers, not in the blockchain itself. For any change in the public ledger, the Bitcoin Cash blockchain requires approval from multiple nodes. Bitcoin Cash integrates cryptographic encryption, intended to enhance transaction safety. It is this mechanism that is intended to protect fund transfer records and transaction details. However, users are advised to safeguard their Bitcoin Cash holdings.

The Bitcoin Cash community, which includes developers, miners, and users, has participated in efforts to address the functionality of Bitcoin Cash. They have increased the block size limit from 1 MB to 32 MB, which aims to allow for more transactions to be processed per block. This has aimed to address transaction speed and fee concerns, and has also aimed to address concerns related to everyday practical use, especially for small businesses and retail consumers. The community has participated in the development of applications and protocols, with the aim of addressing accessibility and technology expansion concerns. Bitcoin Cash has distinct features and a development roadmap, creating a distinct cryptocurrency with its own strengths and challenges. The community's development initiatives have contributed to Bitcoin Cash's presence in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.