What Is Bitcoin Cash? BCH Explained for Australians (2026)

What is Bitcoin Cash?

Bitcoin Cash (ticker BCH) is a separate cryptocurrency that began as a fork of Bitcoin. Its blockchain shares every Bitcoin block up to a point in August 2017, and then continues on its own path. Bitcoin Cash is an altcoin in the everyday sense that it is a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, but it is an unusual one because it inherited Bitcoin’s whole transaction history.

The name echoes the title of the Bitcoin whitepaper, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. The people behind Bitcoin Cash argue that Bitcoin should work mainly as everyday electronic cash, and that bigger blocks are the way to get there. The project’s website, bitcoincash.org, describes BCH as peer-to-peer electronic cash. Others disagree and see Bitcoin’s role as a slower, more conservative settlement network. This guide explains both views and takes neither side. Our what is Bitcoin guide and what is blockchain guide cover the basics that both chains share.

If you are looking for a live BCH price in Australian dollars, see our Bitcoin Cash price page. This guide is about how Bitcoin Cash works and where it came from, not where its price is heading.

The 2017 hard fork: why Bitcoin split

A hard fork is a change to a blockchain’s rules that is not backwards compatible: software that follows the new rules will accept blocks that software following the old rules rejects. If everyone upgrades, there is one chain. If part of the network refuses, there are two. The ATO calls this kind of event a “chain split” and says it can create a new crypto asset.

The block size problem

Bitcoin’s original block size limit was 1,000,000 bytes, or about 1 MB. The Segregated Witness proposal, BIP 141, replaced this with a block weight limit of 4,000,000 units, which in practice allows blocks somewhat larger than 1 MB when transactions use SegWit. As more people used Bitcoin, blocks filled up, and busy periods meant slower confirmations and higher fees. Our Bitcoin transaction fees guide explains how those fees work today.

People proposed different fixes. According to bitcoincash.org’s own history of the split, the debate was between keeping blocks small and positioning Bitcoin as a settlement layer, with more activity moved onto other layers such as the Lightning Network, and scaling directly on-chain with bigger blocks. Neither approach is free of trade-offs. Bigger blocks mean more data for every full node to download, store and check, which raises the cost of running a node. Smaller blocks mean less room on the main chain, and more reliance on other layers.

How the split happened

1. SegWit gets a path to activation. In mid-2017, miners signalled support for BIP 91, a method to activate the existing SegWit deployment with a majority of hash power below 95%, which sped SegWit’s rollout on Bitcoin.
2. A “contingency plan” is built. Developers and miners who wanted bigger blocks released the Bitcoin ABC software in 2017 as an alternative, and Wikipedia’s account says the mining company Bitmain described a block size hard fork as a contingency plan.
3. The chain divides. On 1 August 2017, miners running the new software began producing blocks that Bitcoin’s existing software rejected. bitcoincash.org says the chain split at block 478,558. In other words, block 478,558 was the last block both chains shared, and block 478,559 was the first Bitcoin Cash block.
4. The new chain starts with an 8 MB limit. According to Wikipedia, Bitcoin Cash launched with an 8 MB block limit and a new difficulty adjustment rule, and its limit was later raised.

Because both ledgers were identical up to the split, anyone who controlled their own private keys at that time had the same balance on both chains. Coins held on an exchange were a different matter: the exchange had to decide whether to support the new chain and credit the new coins. The ATO’s chain split guidance, covered below, uses exactly this scenario as its example.

Why does this matter? A hard fork is a reminder that no company owns a public blockchain. When participants cannot agree on the rules, each group can run the software it prefers, and the market decides which chain, if any, attracts users, miners and exchanges.

Bitcoin Cash vs Bitcoin

The two networks have a lot in common and a few big differences. Figures marked “28 Oct 2026” come from the public statistics for each chain on Blockchair, are 24-hour figures, and change every day.

Block size

Block size is the original point of difference. A bigger limit means each block can hold more transactions. In May 2018 Bitcoin Cash raised its maximum block size from 8 MB to 32 MB, as set out in the Bitcoin Cash Node upgrade specifications. Limits are only ceilings: blocks are only as full as the transactions people send. In May 2018, Wikipedia reports, Bitcoin Cash was processing about one-tenth of Bitcoin’s daily transactions, and the Blockchair snapshot above suggests the gap has widened since.

Fees

More room in each block is meant to keep fees low, and bitcoincash.org advertises fees of under a penny. Blockchair’s 28 October 2026 figures are consistent with very low fees on Bitcoin Cash, but they also show that Bitcoin’s median fee that day was only around a cent. Fees on Bitcoin rise and fall with demand for block space, so a quiet day tells you little about a busy one. Fee comparisons only mean something when you compare the same time period and the same transaction size.

Adoption

Adoption is hard to measure, and transaction counts are only one proxy. The snapshot above shows Bitcoin handling many times more on-chain transactions than Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Cash’s supporters point to payment use and to developer activity such as CashTokens, which bitcoincash.org says arrived in 2023. Whether any of that translates into lasting usage is a question for the future, and this guide does not predict it.

Hash rate

Hash rate is the total computing power miners point at a chain. Because both chains use SHA-256, miners with the right hardware can switch between them, so each chain’s hash rate tends to follow what miners can earn. On the 28 October 2026 snapshot, Bitcoin’s hash rate was roughly 250 times Bitcoin Cash’s. The Bitcoin whitepaper says the network is secure as long as honest nodes collectively control more CPU power than any cooperating group of attackers, so a smaller total hash rate generally means a smaller amount of computing power that an attacker would need to outpace. See our proof of work vs proof of stake guide for the wider picture.

Bitcoin Cash’s own splits: BSV and eCash

Bitcoin Cash’s community disagreed about its own future, and the chain has divided twice. This is a short summary; each of these chains has its own supporters, and we describe the events, not who was right.

Bitcoin SV, November 2018

On 15 November 2018, Bitcoin Cash scheduled an upgrade. Two software camps disagreed about its content. The Bitcoin ABC camp wanted new features, including a transaction ordering change (CTOR) and a new opcode called OP_CHECKDATASIG. The Bitcoin SV camp (“Satoshi’s Vision”) wanted a much larger block size limit and fewer changes: its specifications set a default accepted block size of 128 MB. Investopedia’s explainer describes the Bitcoin SV motivation as raising the limit from 32 MB to 128 MB. The two sides also threatened a “hash war”, in which each side would use mining power to try to make its own chain the longer one, as covered by Bitcoin Magazine. The network split into Bitcoin Cash (the ABC side, which kept the BCH ticker) and Bitcoin SV (BSV).

eCash, November 2020

Another split followed on 15 November 2020. Bitcoin ABC proposed an Infrastructure Funding Proposal that would send 8% of each block reward to a development fund. Other developers, including the Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN) team, objected and released software without it. The network divided into a chain following BCHN, which kept the BCH name and the majority of hash power, and a chain following Bitcoin ABC, first called Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHA). BCHA was later rebranded as eCash (XEC), and its project blog describes a new consensus layer called Avalanche and a redenomination of its coins at a ratio of 1 to 1,000,000. The same November 2020 upgrade also replaced Bitcoin Cash’s difficulty adjustment algorithm, as set out in the upgrade specifications.

The practical lesson: “Bitcoin Cash” can mean different things depending on the date, and BCH, BSV and XEC are three different assets. Always check the ticker and the network before you receive or send anything.

How Bitcoin Cash works

This section covers the mechanics only.

• Proof-of-work mining. Miners compete to find a block whose hash is below a target set by the network’s difficulty. The winner adds the block and collects the block reward plus transaction fees. The Bitcoin whitepaper describes this design, and Bitcoin Cash kept it. Our Bitcoin mining guide covers the process in detail.
• Block time and halving. The target block time is about 10 minutes, and the block reward halves every 210,000 blocks, the same schedule as Bitcoin. Our Bitcoin halving guide explains the idea.
• Difficulty adjustment. Difficulty changes automatically so that blocks keep arriving at roughly the target pace as hash power moves in and out. Bitcoin Cash used an emergency difficulty adjustment from August 2017, which Wikipedia says caused instability in mining difficulty, and has since replaced its algorithm, most recently with ASERT in the November 2020 upgrade.
• Full nodes enforce the rules. Every full node checks every block and transaction against the consensus rules and rejects any that break them, however much work went into them. Bitcoin Cash has several independent node implementations, including Bitcoin Cash Node, according to Wikipedia and bitcoincash.org. Our what is a node guide explains what nodes do.
• Upgrades are coordinated, not automatic. Changes such as the 2018 block size increase, CashTokens in 2023 and the adaptive block limit in 2024 are scheduled network upgrades. Node operators and miners choose whether to run the new software, which is exactly how the splits above happened.
• Wallets and keys. You hold BCH with private keys, like Bitcoin. Anyone who has your seed phrase controls your coins, so see our crypto wallet guide and seed phrase guide.

Risks to understand

Moneysmart’s crypto assets page says most crypto are high-risk, their value is very volatile, many providers are unlicensed, crypto can be stolen, and you should be prepared to lose everything you put in. Those general warnings apply to Bitcoin Cash. There are also risks specific to its history.

• Volatility. Prices can swing sharply in short periods. Nothing in this guide is a price forecast.
• A smaller network. As the comparison above shows, Bitcoin Cash has far less hash power and far fewer on-chain transactions than Bitcoin, which brings the security point from the whitepaper and the risk of thin liquidity.
• Contested upgrades and further splits. BCH has divided twice. A future dispute could do so again, and a split can create duplicate coins, confusion over tickers and, early on, risks such as transactions being replayed on both chains. Bitcoin Magazine noted the 2018 split initially lacked replay protection.
• Project claims are not guarantees. Statements such as low fees, strong uptime and fixed supply come from the project’s own website. Treat them as claims to check, not facts that Jittie has verified.
• Exchange and wallet risk. Moneysmart warns that, if a platform fails or is hacked, you may not be protected. Our crypto exchange guide and what is KYC guide explain what to expect from an Australian platform.
• Scams. Fake giveaways, impersonation and “recover your crypto” offers are common. Moneysmart’s crypto scams page and our crypto scams guide cover the warning signs.

Bitcoin Cash in Australia: AUSTRAC and the ATO

AUSTRAC registration

AUSTRAC’s virtual asset service provider overview says a business must be registered with AUSTRAC before it provides virtual asset services in Australia, and that registration is renewed every three years. AUSTRAC’s register of providers is public: you can search it on the AUSTRAC VASP register. Before using any exchange, search for its legal name. AUSTRAC registration is an anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing obligation. It is not an Australian financial services licence and it does not mean AUSTRAC endorses a provider or protects your money. Moneysmart notes that new ASIC laws for digital asset platforms commence on 8 April 2027.

Tax: general information only

The ATO’s crypto asset investments page says crypto assets are generally capital gains tax (CGT) assets for individuals. Selling for Australian dollars, swapping one crypto for another and spending crypto can each be a CGT event, and the ATO says you need to keep records. That includes swapping BCH for BTC or the reverse. See also our crypto tax guide.

The ATO also has a page on crypto chain splits, and its worked example is the 1 August 2017 Bitcoin Cash split. In general terms, the ATO says that receiving a new asset from a chain split is not ordinary income or a capital gain at the time you receive it, the new asset’s cost base is $0, and CGT applies when you later dispose of it. The page has the details and conditions. This is a general summary of the ATO’s published guidance, not tax advice. Your circumstances, including whether you hold crypto as an investment, as a business or for personal use, change the result, so check ato.gov.au or speak to a registered tax agent.

A checklist before you go further

1. Am I clear which asset I mean: BTC, BCH, BSV or XEC? Tickers and networks are not interchangeable.
2. Is the provider I am considering on the AUSTRAC register under its legal name?
3. Do I understand that prices are volatile and that I should be prepared to lose everything I put in, as Moneysmart warns?
4. Do I know how I would keep my private keys and seed phrase safe, and who controls them?
5. Am I keeping dates, AUD values and records for tax, as the ATO asks?
6. Have I checked any claim about fees, speed or adoption against a neutral data source and the same time period?
7. Have I spoken to a licensed financial adviser or registered tax agent if the decision matters to me?

For the foundations, see our what is Bitcoin guide, what is an altcoin guide and what is blockchain guide. Live prices are on our Bitcoin Cash price page.

Eagle BTM Pty Ltd ACN 659 281 820 publishes this education site and is an AUSTRAC-registered DCE/VASP. AUSTRAC registration is not an Australian financial services licence, and nothing here recommends any platform, service or asset or is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything. Jittie is in pre-launch. Join the waitlist for launch updates. General information only — not financial, tax, or legal advice.

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