eCash vs Bitcoin Cash.
Same ancestry, different roadmaps — how XEC and BCH diverged and what it means for your wallet.
| Bitcoin Cash | eCash | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticker | BCH | XEC |
| Address prefix | bitcoincash: | ecash: |
| Unit redenomination | 1 BCH = 100,000,000 sats | 1 XEC = 100 base units |
| Max supply | 21,000,000 BCH | 21,000,000,000,000 XEC |
| Consensus | Nakamoto PoW | Nakamoto PoW + Avalanche pre-consensus |
| Block time (target) | 10 minutes | 10 minutes, Avalanche finality in seconds |
| Node-funded development | No dedicated protocol subsidy | Yes — coinbase-funded development |
| Forked from | Bitcoin (2017) | Bitcoin Cash (Nov 2020) |
How BCH and XEC diverged.
2017
2020
2021
2026
Same primitives, different bets.
The two chains share a common ancestor and many of the same primitives — UTXOs, Nakamoto proof-of-work, a 21 million cap. The split is about direction. eCash bets on fast finality via Avalanche pre-consensus and a coinbase-funded development budget. Bitcoin Cash bets on continuity — same mechanics, minimal protocol change.
For wallet software this matters: XEC transactions land with sub-second Avalanche finality, and its addresses use the ecash: prefix instead of bitcoincash:. That's why a dedicated wallet like Electrum ABC handles eCash rather than reusing a BCH wallet.
eCash vs Bitcoin Cash — common questions.
Why was eCash created?+
The split that became eCash was driven by disagreements over governance, funding development, and the roadmap — specifically the desire to add Avalanche-based pre-consensus and a node-funding mechanism that BCH did not adopt.
Are XEC and BCH addresses interchangeable?+
No. They share lineage but use different address prefixes (ecash: vs bitcoincash:) and live on separate chains. Sending BCH to an XEC address (or vice versa) results in loss.
Does 1 BCH equal 1 XEC?+
No. XEC was redenominated at the fork — 1 BCH-era coin became 1,000,000 XEC. That's why 1 XEC uses only 2 decimal places while 1 BCH uses 8.
Which came first?+
Bitcoin Cash forked from Bitcoin in August 2017. eCash split off from Bitcoin Cash in November 2020 (rebranded from BCHA to XEC in July 2021). eCash is the descendant chain.