Bitcoin Cash for Beginners

Is Bitcoin Cash is different to Bitcoin?

Bitcoin Cash today is a 100% independent cryptocurrency; its price is not dependant on that of the original Bitcoin. However, Bitcoin (BTC) is still the most dominant cryptocurrency (with over 50% dominance in market share today).

Only one real Bitcoin…

According to Bitcoin.com (CEO: Roger Ver), they claim that BCH is the real bitcoin. They claim that the current code implementation of BCH aligns closer to that of Satoshi’s original white paper (published 10 years ago). This viewpoint is also held by Bit main, who are rumored to be behind the majority of the hashing power behind the bitcoin cash network.

Why is Bitcoin worth more than Bitcoin Cash?

But if Bitcoin Cash is cheaper and faster, why is Bitcoin worth more?

No one knows for sure, but there are two main theories: an economic one and a social one.

How Bitcoin Cash is developing

Current development in Bitcoin Cash is largely geared towards utilizing its large block size for purposes other than simply carrying BCH transactions.

The large block size creates ample room to carry smart contract type programs on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain, although there are some challenges associated with adapting the underlying Bitcoin framework for smart contracts, which other blockchains don’t have to contend with.

Block Size

Bitcoin, as well known as it is for being the first coin, has its drawbacks. Its transaction process time is quite slow, and the goal with Bitcoin Cash was to eliminate this. One of the main reasons for its speed is its block size. There is a limit to the size of every Bitcoin block — 1 MB, whereas when Bitcoin Cash was created, it had an 8 MB limit. Today, it’s increased to 32 MB, making it one of the fastest processing coins and allowing for transactions to be completed with more speed.

How to claim Bitcoin Cash

If you had Bitcoins in your possession prior to August 1st, 2017 when the Bitcoin Cash hard fork happened, you are able to claim the same amount of tokens in Bitcoin Cash. Even if you haven’t claimed your Bitcoin Cash tokens by now, they will be safe and sound waiting for you to claim them.

The methods of claiming your tokens will vary depending on the particular wallet you use.

If you have a full node wallet (which is a wallet that requires you to download the entire Blockchain) like Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin Knots, simply back up your wallet by navigating the menu and selecting ‘Backup Wallet’. This will generate a wallet.dat file which you can import into a full node Bitcoin Cash wallet, such as Bitcoin ABC, where your BCH tokens will be available to you.

It is very important to note that some full node wallets can conflict with each other. For example, the default data directory for Bitcoin ABC is the same as Bitcoin Core. Therefore installing Bitcoin ABC may result in Bitcoin Core’s data being overwritten.

If you haven’t backed up your private keys, this may result in you losing both your BTC and BCH tokens forever. To avoid this, install Bitcoin ABC, or any similar full node Bitcoin Cash wallet, on a different computer.

If you are using an SPV (Simplified Payment Verification) wallet (which doesn’t need the entire Blockchain downloaded to your computer to operate) you should still be able to claim your Bitcoin Cash tokens.

Most of those wallets use a recovery seed, which is a phrase that holds your Bitcoin private keys, and by extension, your Bitcoin Cash private keys. Therefore you should be able to access your BCH simply by inserting this seed into a dedicated wallet.

However, the procedure to do this may differ depending on what type of wallet is used. So to be on the safe side, search for an announcement made by your wallet provider which provides instructions on how to claim your funds. Alternatively, you can always contact your wallet’s support team.

If you weren’t holding any Bitcoins at the time of the split, you can still purchase Bitcoin Cash at some cryptocurrency exchanges or opt for a peer-to-peer transaction.

Exchanges to buy Bitcoin Cash

Peer-to-peer trading

Alternatively, you can opt for a peer-to-peer purchase. LocalBitcoinCash is an example of a service which supports this for Bitcoin Cash, as LocalBitcoins does for the original Bitcoin. LocalBitcoinCash provides a platform where users can trade BCH for fiat currencies directly with each other. Users can either place orders and wait for someone to respond or fulfil other people’s orders, with the platform itself providing an escrow service. However, whether this platform can be trusted still remains to be seen.

If you do decide to use the platform, bear in mind that you will be dealing with individuals, instead of reputable companies. This means that the chance of fraudulent behavior is significantly higher.

When trading peer-to-peer, always make sure to double-check the amounts, the current exchange rate and the addresses of both your and the recipient’s wallet. Finally, and this should be obvious - never, under any circumstances give up your private keys to anyone.

There is also an option of setting up a person-to-person meeting. This can be done through dedicated Bitcoin Cash forums, LocalBitcoinCash and you can always check Meetup.com to find a BCH-related event near you.

SOURCES

https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-cash-for-beginners/how-to-buy-bitcoin-cash