While the names Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Bitcoin SV (BSV) are confusingly similar, there are significant differences between these cryptocurrencies. This article will help clarify these differences.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency. It was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 using blockchain technology. Its main characteristics are independence from monetary and financial systems, as well as its innovative use of a peer-to-peer network combined with cryptography.
The maximum amount of Bitcoin that will ever be available is 21 million coins. Over 19 million coins have been mined already, which leaves only around 2 million left to be mined. Scarcity is part of what makes any asset valuable, including Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has numerous advantages over traditional currencies.
- Nearly instantaneous transfers
- Borderless transactions
- Lower transaction fees than traditional payment processors.
- No limit on the size of tranctions
Bitcoin’s disadvantages
- Lack of knowledge about bitcoin: Many people still don’t know what bitcoin is or about its advantages.
- Price Volatility: In theory, the more users, the more stable bitcoin’s price will become. Today, it seems like every event has a significant impact on the price of Bitcoin, but this should diminish over time.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 from a hard form of Bitcoin. Many people don’t take it seriously, while others see it as the future of digital currency.
Bitcoin Cash is a port of an earlier version of Bitcoin, where the development team changed some parameters, including the block size. The idea was to perform more transactions on the blockchain without using off-chain solutions like the Lightning Network. However, most members of the bitcoin community do not support the idea. Currently, Bitcoin Cash is considered highly speculative.
The advantages of Bitcoin Cash:
- The speed of its transactions
- The low cost of each transaction
- Intuitiveness and ease of use
- Reliability and fluidity of the network.
- Stability of the model
The disadvantages of Bitcoin Cash:
- The ecosystem involves a complex learning curve.
- Securing the network requires a strong background in cybersecurity.
- The instability of transaction speeds
- The high cost of converting Bitcoin Cash to fiat currency
Bitcoin SV (BSV)
Bitcoin SV (BSV) was created from a Bitcoin Cash hard fork. On November 15, 2018, the blockchain was forked into two: Bitcoin ABC (Adjustable Block Size Cap) and Bitcoin SV (Satoshi Vision). Bitcoin SV aims to provide a decentralized solution by utilizing cryptocurrency as a means of payment and exchange while increasing network capacity.
The advantages of Bitcoin SV:
- The Bitcoin legacy: culture, currency properties, proven operation.
- Low fees.
- The ability to store files on the blockchain.
- Wealthy supporters (nChain, Coingeek)
The disadvantages of Bitcoin SV:
- Inadequate security: unintentional branching and the possibility of a 51% attack
- Overly centralized mining and community support for strong government regulation created a lack of resistance to censorship.
- The protocol was built around one person: Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakomoto
- The majority of the cryptocurrency community rejected it.
Conclusion
Now you know the difference between these confusingly similarly-named cryptocurrencies. If you are looking to invest in the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, or BTC, is what you are looking for. So, hopefully now you will never get these 3 mixed up again.
