Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has consistently delivered pleasant surprises to its community throughout its development journey. The project continues to impress with its resilience and capacity for innovation, reinforcing its role as a significant player in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Blockexplorer Recognizes Bitcoin Cash as the True Bitcoin
On January 10, 2018, the Blockexplorer website made a significant announcement. It declared that it would rebrand Bitcoin as "Bitcoin Legacy," cease adding new features for it, and eventually withdraw support entirely. The platform stated that it considers Bitcoin Cash to be the only legitimate continuation of the original Bitcoin project.
The announcement elaborated on the reasoning behind this major decision. In August 2017, a hard fork split the Bitcoin blockchain into two separate paths. A quarter later, it was evident that the branch supported by Blockstream had strayed from the principles outlined in the original Bitcoin whitepaper. This branch was described as having entered a developmental dead end.
The announcement criticized the high transaction fees and slow confirmation times associated with the legacy chain, noting fees of around $20 that were continuing to climb. It emphasized that a currency fit for the future must offer optional, low fees and instant transactions—qualities that Bitcoin Cash was built to provide. Consequently, Blockexplorer decided to deprecate support for what it termed "Bitcoin Legacy" and throw its full support behind Bitcoin Cash, which it now simply refers to as "Bitcoin."
The platform also mentioned plans to continue deploying services for Bitcoin Cash and to add support for other valuable cryptocurrencies that enhance privacy, such as ZCash.
Technical Advancements: Bitcoin Unlimited Releases Version 1.2.0.0
Beyond gaining community endorsements, Bitcoin Cash has also received robust support from development teams working on technical improvements. A key issue addressed by these teams was the standardization of the Bitcoin Cash address format.
Around January 2, 2018, the development team Bitcoin ABC released version 0.16.2, which included support for a new address format. Shortly after, on January 7, 2018, another major development team, Bitcoin Unlimited, released its own significant update: Bitcoin Cash version 1.2.0.0.
This release provided a more complete implementation of the hard fork upgrade that had been activated on November 13, 2017. Its most notable feature was the introduction of the new CashAddr address format. While the old address format remained valid until January 14, 2018, the new format became the default after that date. Users could control which format was displayed using the --usecashaddr command flag or corresponding configuration parameter.
The move to a new address format was initially proposed by BitPay, but their implementation offered only limited support. The new CashAddr format is universally applicable and designed for use across all platforms and services. The update also included an RPC call (getaddressforms) that could display BitPay's format, though this format is not shown in the GUI or other RPC calls by default.
Additional Enhancements in the Release
The Bitcoin Unlimited 1.2.0.0 release included several other important technical upgrades:
- The new Difficulty Adjustment Algorithm (DAA) was activated by block height instead of Median Time Past (MTP), and the
newdaaactivationtimeparameter was removed. - Cash network rules became mandatory; peers using old rules were rejected.
- The currency cache was improved for better performance.
- A new
satoshisfield was added to RPC calls that return an amount. This integer field represents the exact number of satoshis, making it easier for script writers to work with amounts without relying on complex decimal libraries. - Two new RPC calls were added for importing addresses and private keys without requiring the use of
importaddressandimportprivkey. These new commands support batch processing, allow multiple addresses or keys to be imported in a single step, and perform the rescan operation asynchronously to prevent RPC timeouts. - A verbose
getstatwas added to return timestamps for reported statistics. - Statistics reporting was made resilient to system time changes by using
clock_monotonicon supported platforms.
For those interested in exploring these technical developments further, the full details and download were made available on the Bitcoin Unlimited official website. 👉 Explore more blockchain development strategies
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH)?
The primary difference lies in their scaling philosophies. Bitcoin Cash was created to increase the block size, allowing for more transactions per block, lower fees, and faster confirmation times. It aims to function primarily as a transactional currency, as originally envisioned in the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Why was a new address format (CashAddr) introduced for Bitcoin Cash?
The new CashAddr format was introduced to prevent confusion and avoid sending funds to addresses on the wrong chain (e.g., sending BCH to a BTC address or vice versa). The new format includes a prefix and is visually distinct from legacy Bitcoin addresses, enhancing security for users.
What does a "hard fork" mean in the context of blockchain?
A hard fork is a radical change to a network's protocol that makes previously invalid blocks and transactions valid, or vice-versa. This type of change requires all nodes or users to upgrade to the latest version of the protocol software. The creation of Bitcoin Cash was the result of a hard fork from the original Bitcoin blockchain.
Is Bitcoin Cash considered a good investment?
Like all digital assets, investing in Bitcoin Cash carries inherent risks due to market volatility. Its value is determined by market demand, adoption rates, technological utility, and broader cryptocurrency market trends. It is crucial to conduct thorough personal research and understand that past performance is not indicative of future results.
How can I stay updated on Bitcoin Cash developments?
The best way to stay informed is to follow official communication channels from the major development teams like Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin Unlimited, as well as community forums and reputable news sources focused on cryptocurrency.