How to Buy Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Guide
By: Alexander Reed | Last updated: 2/20/24
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) came about in August 2017 after a hard fork and a split in the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin Cash is a direct result of the constant debates and many opinions about the future of Bitcoin’s scalability and mass adoption.
In this guide, you’ll find out exactly what makes Bitcoin Cash special and where to get your hands on some coins.
How to Buy Bitcoin Cash Summary
- Get a Bitcoin Cash wallet (Ledger, Exodus, Edge)
- Get your Bitcoin Cash address (normal or Cash address)
- Find a BCH exchange (Coinmama, CEX.IO)
- Buy BCH and withdraw them to your wallet
That’s it! If you want a deeper explanation of what Bitcoin Cash is, how to buy it, and where to store it, keep on reading. Here’s what I’ll cover:
1. Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin’s blockchain has grown exponentially since its inception. This means that many more users are using the cryptocurrency, which is slowing down the network.
The limited Bitcoin block size of 1 MB means that blocks are filling up quickly, resulting in a long queue of unconfirmed transactions. As a result, at peak times, transactions can become slow and expensive.
Bitcoin Cash, on the other hand, was initially created with an 8 MB block, which was later increased in size to 32 MB. This change allows for more transactions to be processed in each block mined.
Many see this as a step forward in terms of how best to scale the network.
Bitcoin Cash opposers remain adamant that it’s simply a short-term fix that doesn’t solve the problem in the long run. Also, they claim there’s no implementation of ideas such as SegWit to help effectively break transactions down into smaller, more manageable pieces.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH), sometimes referred to as Bcash, is a fork of Bitcoin (BTC). When a fork occurs on a blockchain, the currency is basically duplicated.
This means that anyone with Bitcoin in his possession at the time the fork occurred got credited with the same amount of Bitcoin Cash.
In November 2018, Bitcoin Cash forked and created Bitcoin SV (Satoshi’s Vision) – a version of Bitcoin Cash with an even larger block size of 128 MB.
2. Buying Bitcoin Cash in 3 Simple Steps
Step 1: Get a Bitcoin Cash Wallet
Before you can buy Bitcoin Cash, you’ll need a Bitcoin Cash wallet to store it in. Hardware wallets that support Bitcoin Cash include industry leaders Ledger and TREZOR.
Both Ledger and TREZOR provide functions for you to use Bitcoin Cash as you would any other cryptocurrency. Additionally, there are a variety of software wallets you can use to store Bitcoin Cash as well.
Exodus wallet provides a great user experience with a seamless coin swap service built right in, as well as a fiat on-ramp. The wallet is available for desktop, iOS, Android, and as a Web3 wallet. You can read my complete Exodus review here.
Edge is a mobile wallet for iOS and Android that supports multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin Cash. It also has a variety of features, allowing you to buy cryptocurrencies and exchange them from within the app.
Electron Cash is a clone of the awesome Electrum wallet for Bitcoin. If you’re used to Electrum, then you’ll have no problem jumping on board with its sister technology.
Other wallets that support BCH include KeepKey, Bitpay, and Coinomi. You can view all available wallets on the official Bitcoin Cash website.
Once you have your wallet, you will need your Bitcoin Cash address. It’s a long string of letters and numbers that start with either a “1” or a “3” – similar to normal Bitcoin addresses.
Since many people got confused and started sending Bitcoin to Bitcoin Cash wallets and vice versa, a new format was invented for Bitcoin Cash. The format, called “Cash Address,” is 42 characters long and starts with a “p” or a “q”. Here’s an example:
qpm2qsznhks23z7629mms6s4cwef74vcwvy22gdx6a
Keep in mind that Cash Addresses are just a representation of original Bitcoin Cash addresses. This means that the same address can be represented in two different ways (normal format or Cash Address format).
Not all wallets support the Cash Address format.
Step 2: Find a Bitcoin Cash Exchange
eToro disclaimer: This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn moreMost Bitcoin exchanges will also allow you to buy Bitcoin Cash. Here are the top ones around:
Buy Bitcoin Cash Through eToro
eToro allows users from around the world to buy and sell Bitcoin Cash with a variety of payment methods.
eToro is more aimed towards investing in BCH for making a profit in fiat currency (i.e., Dollars, Euros, etc.) rather than actually using it. That being said, eToro does give you access to your coins and allows you to send coins from eToro to other people.
If you use eToro for investment only, you don’t actually need a Bitcoin Cash wallet, as you won’t be withdrawing the coins. You can read my complete eToro review here.
eToro disclaimer: This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn moreBuy Bitcoin Cash Through Coinmama
Coinmama, one of the oldest exchanges around, allows you to buy Bitcoin Cash with a credit card, debit card, or SEPA transfer. Coinmama accepts users from almost all countries around the world.
You can read my complete Coinmama review here.
Buy Bitcoin Cash Through CEX.IO
CEX.IO, based in London, is a trusted, experienced name in the industry, having been around since 2013. You can choose from a selection of cryptocurrencies on the site, including Bitcoin Cash.
The exchange has a brokerage service (easier to use, more expensive) and a trading platform (cheaper but more complex). CEX.IO accepts credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, and SEPA.
You can read my CEX.IO review here.
Buy Bitcoin Cash Through Coinbase
Coinbase is a reputable cryptocurrency exchange that supplies a variety of other services, including a wallet, a trading platform (Coinbase Advanced), and a Coinbase Visa debit card.
If you’re a beginner, it’s probably best to use the brokerage service, which is a bit more expensive but easier to use. Advanced users can use Coinbase Advanced to buy Bitcoin Cash with lower fees.
Coinbase accepts debit cards and wire transfers. You can read my complete Coinbase review here.
Buy Bitcoin Cash Through Bitstamp
Bitstamp, the oldest exchange around, supports the trading of BCH to Bitcoin and direct purchases with US dollars or Euros. There’s also an option to buy Bitcoin Cash with your credit card at a higher price.
If you know your way around Bitcoin trading platforms, it’s best to use that service and not the credit card service since you’ll save substantially on fees. You can read my complete Bitstamp review here.
Other options to purchase Bitcoin Cash include Bitfinex, Kraken, Poloniex, and more (you can view all available exchanges at the bottom of Bitcoin Cash’s website).
Step 3: Transfer the BCH to your wallet
As usual, I recommend that you never leave money on an exchange.
Once you’ve finished buying your Bitcoin Cash, move it to your own wallet (the one you chose in Step 1). You can then follow the status of your transaction using a Bitcoin Cash block explorer.
3. Conclusion
It’s apparent that Bitcoin Cash has still not gained full acceptance by large parts of the cryptocurrency community. It still sits firmly in second place to its older brother in terms of both price and usage.
Bitcoin Cash has the advantage of being the first major split that has garnered acceptance. Most forks after it didn’t receive nearly enough attention from the community or the media.
However, with internal conflicts inside its founding team and accelerated Bitcoin development for scalability solutions, I’m not sure if there’s yet an actual use case for Bitcoin Cash other than price speculation.
Have any thoughts or comments about Bitcoin Cash? I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.
Amazing Blog. Thanks for sharing with us. Keep it up.
Thanks for sharing great information about bitcoin. Keep it up.
So if I buy Bitcoin cash today at a price of say $600 and in a months time the rate increases to maybe $5000, what do I gain? Is my still worth $600 or I get the $5000 if I decide to sell it?
WHAT COMPANIES ACCEPT BITCOIN CASH
Hi Randy,
In addition to all the exchanges which allow for trading in BCH, which you can check here: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin-cash/markets/ there are also many companies accepting it for goods or services. I found a list of such companies here: https://acceptbitcoin.cash/
I’m new to cryptocurrency and I have a couple of miners that have been set loose and these particular websites are sending my mined Bitcoin to some location that I’m not aware of I don’t know how do I track my Bitcoin
Hi Jeremiah,
When you say you have miners, do you mean actual physical ASIC mining hardware? There’s not really any other type of miner. If you mean mining software apps for a mobile phone, those are all scams.
I wanted to purchse my first crypto in Petroleum? how and what websites?
Hi Carlos,
Do you mean that you want to buy Venezuela’s Petro cryptocurrency, which is backed by oil? Honestly I’m not sure how you can do this unless you’re a citizen of Venezuela, and as I see you’re asking how to buy crypto in Africa, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
Anyway, I would advise against buying Petro. It is centrally-controlled by a desperate government which has shown shocking economic incompetence so far, so I doubt it will be successful long-term.