What Is Bitcoin Cash (BCH)?
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that branched off from Bitcoin on August 1, 2017, when the chain split at block 478558. It carries forward the original goal of the Bitcoin whitepaper - money you can send directly to anyone, anywhere, without a bank or middleman. Like Bitcoin, it is secured by SHA-256 proof-of-work and capped at a fixed supply of 21 million coins, but it is tuned for everyday payments with larger blocks, faster confirmations, and transaction fees that stay under one cent.
Because fees are tiny and the network runs continuously, Bitcoin Cash is well suited to daily spending, merchant payments, micro-transactions, and cross-border remittances - use cases where high fees would otherwise make small transfers impractical.
What Makes Bitcoin Cash Unique?
Bitcoin Cash raised the block size far above Bitcoin's original limit, which lets the network confirm many more transactions per block and keeps fees low even when demand rises. Since the 2024 Adaptive Block Limit Algorithm (ABLA) upgrade, the block size limit adjusts dynamically as usage grows, so the network can scale without contentious manual changes.
The protocol also added native token support: with CashTokens, activated in 2023, both fungible and non-fungible tokens live directly on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain, secured by the same proof-of-work that protects BCH itself. Combined with sub-cent fees and second-scale confirmations, this makes Bitcoin Cash a practical base layer for payments and token-powered applications.
Gem Wallet - Your Self-Custodial Bitcoin Cash Wallet
Gem Wallet is a self-custodial Bitcoin Cash wallet for iOS, Android, and APK. It lets you create a BCH wallet in under two minutes, generates your Bitcoin Cash address on the device, and protects everything with a single 12-word recovery phrase that never leaves your phone. Gem Wallet is open-source and non-custodial, so you hold your own keys with no account, no KYC, and no tracking.
Gem Wallet is featured in the official Bitcoin Cash wallets directory on bitcoincash.org. If you also hold Bitcoin, you can manage BTC in the same app with our Bitcoin wallet, alongside hundreds of other assets across every supported network.
Bitcoin Cash Address Format
Bitcoin Cash uses the CashAddr format, an address that begins with the bitcoincash: prefix followed by a string that typically starts with q (for example, bitcoincash:qqe...). This format was introduced to clearly distinguish BCH addresses from Bitcoin (BTC) addresses and to reduce the risk of sending coins to the wrong chain. Some services still display older legacy addresses that start with 1, identical in style to early Bitcoin addresses; both point to the same Bitcoin Cash funds, but CashAddr is the modern standard. Always send BCH only to a Bitcoin Cash address - coins sent to a different network are unrecoverable.
Buy and Spend Bitcoin Cash
Gem Wallet lets you buy Bitcoin Cash directly in the app with a credit card or by converting another cryptocurrency through an integrated on-ramp - see the Buy Crypto page for available payment methods. Once your BCH arrives, you can send and receive it instantly for fees that stay under a cent, which makes it practical for real-world spending, tipping, and paying merchants who accept Bitcoin Cash. Because BCH transactions are final once confirmed, there are no chargebacks, a property that merchants value compared with card payments.
Best for: people who want a fast, low-fee wallet for everyday Bitcoin Cash payments, remittances, and merchant transactions while keeping full self-custody of their keys.
Bitcoin Cash Network at a Glance
| Property | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) |
|---|---|
| Launched | August 1, 2017 (forked from Bitcoin at block 478558) |
| Consensus | SHA-256 proof-of-work |
| Maximum supply | 21,000,000 BCH |
| Average block time | ~10 minutes |
| Typical fee | Under $0.01 per transaction |
| Block size | Dynamic since the 2024 ABLA upgrade |
| Native tokens | CashTokens (fungible & NFT), since 2023 |
| Address format | CashAddr (bitcoincash: prefix) |
Data source: bitcoincash.org
Download Gem Wallet to create your self-custodial Bitcoin Cash wallet in under two minutes and start sending, receiving, and buying BCH with full control of your keys.










