Bitcoin Cash: A Decentralized Currency For A Decentralized Future
Introduction
With bitcoin cash, you can get all the benefits of bitcoin without any of the downsides that make bitcoin slow and expensive to use. With it, you can send money anywhere in the world instantly and affordably, without having to trust in banks or third parties who have proven time and again that they are bad actors willing to sacrifice the safety of their users for short-term profit.
The Bitcoin Cash network has demonstrated twice (in 2018 and 2020) the decentralized consensus at the core of its blockchain, excluding centralization directions and attacks by two dissenting factions that split away. In 2022, we cannot await a transaction processing for more than a few seconds. For many people around the world, these features represent what is needed to instill trust in cryptocurrencies and to offer competition to today's privileged elite who continue to create monopolies on global trade.
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash was created from an open-source fork of the Bitcoin Core software client in August 2017, as part of an ongoing disagreement among members of the Bitcoin community about how to handle scaling issues. The new client has doubled the block size and operates with more efficient and faster transactions than before. It is being adopted by many people around the world who demand low fees and reliable confirmations, not just by privileged individuals or small elites.
The History of Bitcoin Cash
In 2013, Bitcoin was at the forefront of cryptocurrencies when it increased in value from $200 to over $1,000. It was during this time that Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared and left the community with no leader. This led to two camps that were discussing how to continue with Bitcoin. One camp believed that Bitcoin should be used as digital gold and not spendable currency; the other wanted to keep Bitcoin usable. Finally, on August 1st, 2017, a hard fork took place which created Bitcoin cash and separated it from the original chain. The new cryptocurrency network had an 8 MB block size limit and its own blockchain so transaction processing times would not be slowed down like they were in Bitcoin’s case.
The Fork in 2017
The consensus of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain has been demonstrated twice (in 2018 and 2020) with the exclusion of centralization directions and attacks by two dissenting factions that split away. In 2022, we cannot await a transaction processing for more than a few seconds. We need to keep this decentralized currency in order to reach its full potential, billions of people will adopt Bitcoin Cash as their currency if we maintain the current level of decentralization. It is necessary to preserve this level while there are still some weaknesses in the system that need improvement and additional features (such as Lightning Network). This will allow us to avoid centralization pressures from corporations and governments, which would be harmful to our democratic society.
The Second Fork in 2018
It is clear that there is an upward trend in the global adoption of Bitcoin Cash. One of the most recent examples of this trend was when Coinhako, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, introduced Bitcoin Cash to its platform. The introduction on Coinhako’s platform came in response to the demand from users and trading volume on the cryptocurrency exchange. With this new addition, Coinhako will now be able to provide users with more options for digital currencies on their platform.
In 2020, we witnessed two factions of developers split off into separate camps and attempt to determine which direction Bitcoin should take.
Centralization Attempts
The main issue with centralization is that it restricts the choices of participants and changes the rules in favor of one group. A couple of cents was all it cost to attack Bitcoin's chain, while an attacker would have had to spend billions to break Bitcoin Cash's chain. Bitcoin is inefficient at best, with 3-4 transactions per second. Bitcoin Cash can process 60 or more transactions per second, which will be necessary as cryptocurrency becomes more popular and adoption rates increase. The inability to scale has been the main barrier for new entrants into the space and a major factor in driving them away from Bitcoin. In 2022, we cannot await transaction processing for more than a few seconds.
The Future of Bitcoin Cash
Many people are predicting the future of Bitcoin Cash. Some believe that Bitcoin cash will become the world's number one cryptocurrency while others predict that Bitcoin cash will be replaced by other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum or Litecoin. One major aspect of how we can predict how Bitcoin cash will fare in the future is based on its use case. Will Bitcoin cash become an international payment network? Or will it focus on becoming a store of value?