Overview
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was created on 1 August 2017, when part of the Bitcoin community split (“forked”) from Bitcoin over a long debate about block size. BCH supporters wanted bigger blocks so more transactions could fit on-chain, keeping fees low for everyday payments. Everyone who held BTC at the time also received the same amount of BCH.
In 2018, Bitcoin Cash itself split again, creating Bitcoin SV (BSV).
How it works
Bitcoin Cash works much like Bitcoin: proof-of-work mining, a block about every ten minutes, and a 21 million coin limit with halvings every four years (the last in April 2024).
The main difference is block size: BCH blocks can hold up to 32 MB (Bitcoin’s effective limit is about 4 MB), so fees usually stay below a cent.
Newer features include CashTokens (2023), which allow tokens and NFTs on BCH, and the May 2026 upgrade, which expanded BCH’s smart-contract abilities with more advanced math and programming tools.
The BCH token
| BCH at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 21 million BCH |
| In circulation (Oct 2026) | about 20.1 million |
| Price (29 Oct 2026) | about $284 |
| All-time high | about $3,786 (December 2017) |
| Market cap | about $5.7 billion (#21) |
In September 2026, Grayscale filed to convert its Bitcoin Cash Trust into a spot ETF; it had not been approved at the time of writing.
Risks
- Security. BCH has far less mining power than Bitcoin, making attacks cheaper in theory.
- Usage. Despite low fees, few merchants and users pay with BCH.
- Competition. Bitcoin’s Lightning Network and stablecoins on cheap chains (like USDT on TRON) serve the same payment needs.
- Volatility. BCH swung from over $460 in May 2026 to around $213 in August.
Bitcoin Cash vs. the competition
| Bitcoin Cash | Bitcoin | Litecoin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2017 (fork) | 2009 | 2011 |
| Block size | Up to 32 MB | ~4 MB effective | ~4 MB effective |
| Supply | 21 million | 21 million | 84 million |
| Typical fee | Under 1 cent | Varies, higher | Low |
Our verdict
Bitcoin Cash is the most serious of the Bitcoin forks: it keeps Bitcoin’s monetary rules while offering cheap payments and new smart-contract features, and it may soon have an ETF.
But it has never become a widely used payment currency, its security is much lower than Bitcoin’s, and BCH is about 93% below its peak. BCH is a high-risk investment: invest only what you can afford to lose.
This review is for information only and is not financial advice.