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Bitcoin Cash (BCH): How to buy, sell or trade
A beginner’s guide to buying, selling and trading Bitcoin Cash in Australia.
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If you want to buy Bitcoin Cash (BCH), you’ll find this popular digital currency listed for trade on a wide range of exchanges.
However, buying digital coins can be complicated and confusing, particularly for those new to cryptocurrency trading, so keep reading for step-by-step instructions on how to buy BCH with Australian dollars (AUD) or another cryptocurrency.
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific
provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade.
Quick guide: How to buy BCH
- Register for an account with a cryptocurrency exchange like Swyftx.
- Verify your account.
- Go to the deposits section
- Select your preferred payment method and confirm.
- Go to the buy section and select the cryptocurrency you want to buy.
- Enter how much you want to buy, or how much you want to spend.
- Double check the details and confirm your purchase.
This is our quick guide to just one way to buy BCH. Compare some other options in the table below.
Skip ahead: What do you want to know?
Where to buy Bitcoin Cash in Australia
A step-by-step guide to buying Bitcoin Cash
There are two ways to buy Bitcoin Cash:
- Buying Bitcoin Cash with AUD
- Buying Bitcoin Cash with another cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH)
If you’re a cryptocurrency novice, the quickest and simplest option is to buy Bitcoin Cash with AUD. However, we’ve also provided step-by-step instructions on how to buy BCH with another digital currency if that is your preferred option.
Buying Bitcoin Cash with AUD
Here’s an example of how you can buy Bitcoin Cash with AUD on Melbourne-based exchange CoinSpot. Please note that there are several exchanges that list BCH in trading pairs and accept AUD deposits, so compare a range of platforms before deciding where you’d like to buy.
Buying Bitcoin Cash with another cryptocurrency
Here's an example of how to buy Bitcoin Cash with another cryptocurrency on Binance. Once again, Bitcoin Cash is listed on a huge range of crypto exchanges, so compare your options before deciding which platform you want to use.
How to sell Bitcoin Cash
If you want to sell your Bitcoin Cash, you have the option of exchanging it for either crypto or fiat currency. Once again, you’ll need to click through to the trading page on your chosen exchange, but this time you’ll need to make sure you enter your transaction details in the “Sell” rather than “Buy” field.
You should also be aware that BCH isn’t listed in the same extensive range of trading pairs as digital currencies like bitcoin and Ethereum, so you may not be able to directly trade your coins for the currency you want.
Which wallets can I use to hold Bitcoin Cash?
Once you’ve successfully purchased Bitcoin Cash you’ll need to find a safe place to store your coins. While you can keep BCH in your exchange wallet if you wish, the fact that you don’t control the keys for this wallet and exchanges are regularly targeted by hackers means that it’s not recommended.
Instead, choose a secure wallet that gives you full control over your crypto assets. There are myriad options available if you’re looking for a Bitcoin Cash wallet, including:
- Hardware wallets like the Ledger Nano S and TREZOR
- Mobile wallets like Coinomi
- Multi-platform wallets like Jaxx
Check out our guide to some of the best Bitcoin Cash wallets.
How Bitcoin Cash works
Bitcoin is the world’s oldest and most widely recognised cryptocurrency, but as more and more people have started using the bitcoin network, scalability problems have reared their ugly head. With slow transaction times and high fees plaguing bitcoin, the community couldn’t agree on the best way to improve network scalability – some wanted to increase the size of blocks in the blockchain, others wanted to restructure the way data was stored in existing blocks.
When consensus couldn’t be reached, Bitcoin Cash was created from a hard fork of bitcoin in August 2017. With an aim to offer a more practical version of peer-to-peer electronic cash, Bitcoin Cash increased bitcoin’s block size from 1MB to 8MB, and the network now supports blocks of up to 32MB. The Bitcoin Cash mining difficulty also varies depending on how many miners are active on the network.
The result of these changes are that Bitcoin Cash offers lower transaction fees and faster processing times than bitcoin – features which BCH supporters believe make it a much better choice as a transactional currency.
Find out more about how Bitcoin Cash stacks up against bitcoin.
What to consider before you buy Bitcoin Cash
Buying cryptocurrencies is risky. Digital currencies are complicated and speculative assets, and there are multiple factors that can have an effect on the value of any coin or token. Make sure you research and understand the driving forces behind crypto price movements before making a purchase.
If you’re thinking of buying Bitcoin Cash, consider the following factors:
- Supply. According to CoinMarketCap, at the time of writing (September 2018) the circulating supply of Bitcoin Cash was 17,332,900 BCH. The currency’s maximum supply is capped at 21,000,000.
- Distribution. When the hard fork occurred, Bitcoin Cash coins were distributed to all bitcoin holders at a 1:1 ratio.
- Bitcoin performance. Bitcoin’s price movements are known to have a direct effect on the cryptocurrency market as a whole. Add to this the many links between BTC and BCH and it becomes clear just how important it is to follow bitcoin’s performance if you’re thinking of buying BCH.
- Dwindling usage. Data from blockchain research firm Chainalysis of payments received by 17 of the largest cryptocurrency merchant processing services worldwide revealed that Bitcoin Cash payments diminished by almost two thirds (-65%) between March and May 2018. However, it’s worth pointing out that bitcoin experienced an even larger usage drop (~85%) during the same period.
- Concentrated ownership. The same study mentioned in the point above also revealed that more than half (56%) of all Bitcoin Cash is controlled by just 67 digital wallets not located on exchanges.
- Capabilities. During stress tests conducted in September 2018, Bitcoin Cash showed it was capable of handling up to 25,000 transactions per block. This equates to around 40 transactions per second (tps), which is well above bitcoin’s maximum capacity of around 7.
- So many bitcoins. Bitcoin Cash is one of several bitcoin forks to include bitcoin in its name, with others including Bitcoin Diamond and Bitcoin Gold. Forked coins are viewed with scepticism by many crypto enthusiasts, while there’s also the risk that the sheer number of bitcoin variants available confuses and reduces the number of potential buyers.
- Competition. Even this mark of 40tps is well below some other cryptocurrencies. For example, XRP can handle 1,500tps and has consistently lower fees than BCH. So while Bitcoin Cash offers some clear benefits over bitcoin for use as an everyday transactional currency, it will also need to overcome fierce competition from other payment coins.
Compare ways to buy/sell Bitcoin Cash
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Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly
volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of
future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information.
You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory
requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may
have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
Image: Shutterstock
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author holds ADA, ICX, IOTA and XLM.
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