Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash was created on August 1, 2017, when Bitcoin, arguably the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, split into two directions in an event know as a ‘hard fork.’ Anyone who held Bitcoin before the split was entitled to the same number of Bitcoin Cash tokens, in essence, creating a 2-1 split. The symbol for Bitcoin Cash is BCH. Discover more about what crypto is and how it works in our Academy.

The initiative was headed by a small group of mostly China-based Bitcoin miners who refused to support a major software upgrade aimed at speeding up transactions on the bitcoin network.

Bitcoin Cash and its older cousin Bitcoin are both very similar in nature. The most important difference between the two coins is that Bitcoin Cash allows for faster transaction times by using custom block sizing. Bitcoin Cash has a block size with an 8-megabyte transaction limit. Bitcoin transactions on the other hand are limited to 1-megabyte every 10 minutes.

Cryptocurrency exchanges are still divided on whether or not to support Bitcoin Cash. Several of the leading marketplaces, such as Coinbase and Bitstamp, have previously said they will not support or allow trading of Bitcoin Cash on their exchanges. Currently, multinational Kraken, China-based ViaBTC and U.S.-based Bittrex are the leading exchanges that offer and support the new digital currency. Purchases can be made in a variety of ways, ranging from hard cash to credit and debit cards to wire transfers, or even with other cryptocurrencies.

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when choosing which cryptocurrency exchange to start investing and trading with. Some of these include, transaction fees, accessibility, liquidity conditions, reputation, transparency and even what country the exchange is located in. At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong exchange to start trading with, but doing your homework first is highly encouraged.