August 1st is the “Independence Day” of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and the one-year anniversary of the hard fork from Bitcoin (BTC). Whilst the crypto community is still divided, there’s no disputing the fact that BCH has had a productive year and that the coin is in a strong position as the crypto markets awaits their next period of growth.
The hard fork of August 1st was inspired primarily by a wish to increase BTC’s block size limit, which – at least in theory – would increase the speed of transactions and reduce costs. With blocks of up to 32Mb allowed on the network, BCH proponents say that the currency excels for day-to-day transactions where BTC functions primarily as a store of value.
Indeed, of all BCH’s achievements this year, the extent of its adoption as a payment mechanism is perhaps most noteworthy in a sector which still struggles for a day-to-day use-case. The growth in merchant adoption is impressive, and it is by far the most widely accepted cryptocurrency today. BCH now operates with a huge range of services and platforms, including CoinText, which enables BCH transactions by text without the need of an internet connection. The currency can also be sent between individuals and business via BitPay, CoinGate, CoinDance and numerous other payment platforms.
This year has also seen a wealth of applications built on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain, including Memo, a social network, and Wormhole, an app which enables the development of smart contracts on the blockchain. The BCH community is also involved with an array of wider projects finding novel uses for the currency and its blockchain. Just two of the more notable projects include JoyStream, a media platform and torrent client and OpenBazaar, a decentralized, open source e-commerce marketplace.
There’s no end to the BCH / BTC discussions and comparisons in sight, but with just one year of history behind it, Bitcoin Cash is establishing itself more and more. Barring a true reversal in fortune, it seems the controversial currency is here to stay.
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