Disclaimer: The information provided in this report is based on data gathered on August 10, 2024. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, and values can fluctuate significantly. Please be advised that this information may not be accurate or up-to-date at the time of reading.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Project Introduction and Summary
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency that emerged in 2017 as a result of a hard fork from the original Bitcoin blockchain. The primary objective behind its creation was to address the scalability issues that Bitcoin was facing at the time. By increasing the block size limit, BCH aimed to enable faster and cheaper transactions, making it more suitable for everyday use as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
Project & Token Release Date:
- Project Release Date: August 1, 2017 (Hard fork from Bitcoin)
- Token Release Date: August 1, 2017
Market Data (as of August 10, 2024)
- Market Capitalization: $7,069,822,405
- Current Price: $358.06
- Exchanges: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitfinex, and many others
Competitors
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Bitcoin SV (BSV)
- Dash (DASH)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
Use Cases
- Peer-to-Peer Transactions: BCH’s low transaction fees and fast confirmation times make it suitable for sending and receiving payments directly between individuals.
- Merchant Adoption: An increasing number of businesses accept BCH as payment for goods and services.
- Micropayments: The low fees associated with BCH transactions make it practical for micropayments, which could be useful for applications like content monetization or tipping.
Technology
- Proof of Work (PoW): BCH, like Bitcoin, uses the PoW consensus mechanism, where miners compete to solve complex mathematical problems to add new blocks to the blockchain.
- Larger Block Size: BCH’s block size limit is significantly larger than Bitcoin’s, allowing it to process more transactions per block and potentially achieve higher throughput.
- Transaction Speed and Fees: BCH transactions are generally faster and cheaper than Bitcoin transactions due to the larger block size and lower network congestion.
Smart Contracts and Audits
- Smart Contracts: BCH has limited smart contract capabilities compared to other blockchains like Ethereum. However, it does support some basic smart contract functionality through protocols like CashScript.
- Audits: Information on specific smart contract audits for BCH projects may require further research into individual projects built on the BCH blockchain.
Investors and Partners
- Roger Ver: A prominent early investor in Bitcoin and a strong advocate for Bitcoin Cash.
- Jihan Wu: Co-founder of Bitmain, a major Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer, has also been a supporter of BCH.
Presale/ICO/Seed Rounds
- No ICO: BCH did not have an ICO as it was created through a hard fork from Bitcoin. All BCH holders at the time of the fork received an equivalent amount of BCH.
Token Distribution
- Total Supply: 21,000,000 BCH
- Circulating Supply: 19,744,997 BCH
Token Economics and Vesting
- Mining Rewards: New BCH tokens are created through the PoW mining process, similar to Bitcoin. The block reward halves approximately every four years.
- Transaction Fees: Miners also earn transaction fees for including transactions in the blocks they mine.
- No Vesting: As there was no ICO, there is no vesting schedule for BCH tokens. All BCH created at the time of the fork was immediately available to holders.
Roadmap
- Ongoing Development: The BCH community and developers continue to work on improving the network’s scalability, functionality, and adoption.
- Specific Milestones: Information on specific milestones and future plans may require further research into the current development efforts of the BCH community.
Team Members
- Core Developers: BCH is an open-source project with contributions from various developers and organizations.
- Prominent Figures: As mentioned earlier, Roger Ver and Jihan Wu are influential figures in the BCH community.
References:
- Bitcoin Cash Official Website:
- Bitcoin Cash on CoinMarketCap: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin-cash/
- Bitcoin Cash on CoinGecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin-cash
