What is Bitcoin Cash? Is it just the same as bitcoin? What's the difference between the two and which is the true bitcoin?

It is confusing for the beginners gets confuse that there are just not one type of bitcoin. Example: bitcoin cash, bitcoingold, bitcoin diamond. This all are forks form the original bitcoin.

• Fork - an alternate version of an original coin

So bitcoin cash is one of the hardforks of bitcoin. So why is it created?

History of Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin transactions don't get confirmed instantly. In order for a transaction to be confirmed, it is needed to be included in a block of transaction in the bitcoin ledger known as blockchain. A new block of transaction is added in a blockchain an average of 10 minutes.

Adding bitcoin transactions to a block requires storage space. The maximum space for each block of transaction is 1 mb. Thus, when lots of people wants to send bitcoin, transactions gets stuck in a long queue waiting to enter a block and get confirmed. Scalability of the bitcoin emerged.

Two main camps arise because of this scalability issue:

1. Big blockers (Bitmain and Roger Ver) - bitcoin scalability will prevent bitcoin to be a peer to peer payment system with such a long confirmation time and higher fees, people won't use bitcoin. They suggest a solution, to increase the block size to 8mb. Higher block size means many transactions will be made.

2. Small blockers - those who opposes increasing the block size. Their solution is SegWit2x, it will reduce transaction size by 75%. They also suggest to develop lightning network, to allow instant and free bitcoin transaction.

Why the small blockers opposes the increase in block size? The reason is they believe in the long run, it will hurt bitcoin decentralization and functionality.

This arguments take years until it climax in August 2017. Back then, bitcoin is hitting its 12000$ mark. Network is congested, transactions getting delayed and transactions are getting high. So why, nobody take actions to avoid this situation? Bitcoin is a decentralize, so no one has the authority to decides anything.

Participants in the network choose which bitcoin protocol they will run in their computer.

Big blocker suggested bitcoin cash and the small blockers suggested segwit2x. With the giant company bitmain supporting bigblockers, bitcoin cash emerged.

When the fork occured, half of the hash power of bitcoin is done. But after, when the dust is settled, the original bitcoin is still standing strong even after the fork.

Bitcoin network players

1. Miner - incharge in creating blocks and updating the bitcoin ledger transactions

2. Developers - group of individuals collaborating together to maintain bitcoin source code

3. Exchanges - gateway for cryptocurrency adaption. Connect people to the actual coins

4. Wallet - allows user to manage their funds

5. Nodes - different computer that runs the bitcoin code

6. Users - they choose what coins to buy, exchanges coins, wallets to download

Users are the most powerful players in the bitcoin network. Miners, exchanges, wallet providers relies in the public adaption to survive.

Bitcoin Cash Vs Btc

They have similarities with exceptions:

1. Bch has bigger block size: 8mb > 1mb

2. Bch does not support segwit and lightning network

3. Bch has different mining difficulty mechanism

Even after the fork of bitcoin cash to bitcoin. It is easy to see that true bitcoins remained. There are more higher transaction of bitcoin than on cmbitcoin cash. Its value is more higher than the bch.

For me, in the long run, public will be able to adopt bitcoin cash because it is much faster and cheaper. It will always be a convenience way in a peer to peer payment transaction.