Verily, both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash stand out as major forces in the cryptocurrency world. Although Bitcoin is clearly the older (of the two) and happens to be the world’s most commonly adopted cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Cash does have its fair share of relevance in the market.
In this article, we’ll shed light on the factors that distinguish Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin but before that, here is what you should know about Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has been widely labeled the “world’s first every cryptocurrency”. Although numerous other cryptocurrencies have emerged, Bitcoin remains the most dominant coin in the cryptocurrency sphere. Largely, Bitcoin serves the purpose of real currency as Bitcoin holders can trade their Bitcoin in exchange for services, investments, commodities, etc.
For the fact that Bitcoin is made of the blockchain technology, the cryptocurrency is free from being centralized. Put simply, this means Bitcoin isn’t under the control, proprietorship or issuance of a single authority which could be a bank, an individual or the government.
Besides freedom from being centralized, one other great strength of the blockchain technology is protecting Bitcoin from being faked. This, in the words of crypto experts and traders, is to say that the Bitcoin blockchain is decentralized and as such, computers, replacing humans, authenticate the transactions taking place on the blockchain. While any individual can rightfully own the computers that verify Bitcoin transactions, the overriding emphasis on decentralization implies that no single (central) person/authority controls Bitcoin.
Tons and dozens of other powerful cryptocurrencies have shot into popularity. Truth of the matter, however, is that none is yet to outperform Bitcoin and in the light of this, Bitcoin maintains an enviable footing as the crypto market’s most valuable coin.
An Overview of Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash is substantially famed as a digital currency forked out of Bitcoin. Operating with its self-developed blockchain, Bitcoin Cash is said to have evolved through the forking of the original Bitcoin. Notably, “forking” occurs when it appears difficult for Bitcoin developers to reach a common ground on the modifications they intend to incorporate into a particular cryptocurrency.
Such developers may resort to the creation of a new version of the cryptocurrency. Although the newly created cryptocurrency comes with a number of modifications, it will likely have the same code as the original cryptocurrency. This foregoing description of “forking” precisely explains how Bitcoin Cash was created from Bitcoin.
What Factors Distinguish Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin?
From the previous explanation about Bitcoin Cash being forked out of Bitcoin, one can deduce that there is a difference between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Nevertheless, experts have further differentiated Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin in the light of the following factors:
- Transfer times –this serves as a pointer to the fact that Bitcoin Cash guarantees faster transaction times compared to Bitcoin. Verifying a Bitcoin transaction might cause you to hold on for as long as 10 minutes but in the case of Bitcoin Cash, there isn’t any need waiting that long for transaction verification
- Transfer fees –Bitcoin transactions will cause you to incur as much as $1 (per transaction). In fact, occasions might warrant your incurring more, considering that there was a time traders had to pay as much as $25 per transaction. Comparatively, Bitcoin Cash has a cheaper cost of transaction estimated at $0.20 per transaction
- Transaction efficiency –this distinguishing factor implies that Bitcoin Cash can be used by more people at a time. Broadly, Bitcoin Cash executes more transactions than Bitcoin does, making it a more efficient cryptocurrency than the latter
Conclusion
Hopefully, you have not only had an insightful review of Bitcoin Cash but also found out the difference(s) between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin. Summarizing the difference(s) between these two cryptocurrencies, one can argue that Bitcoin Cash is the cheaper and more efficient version of Bitcoin.