BTC to BCH exchange: swap Bitcoin to Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash forked from Bitcoin in 2017 over exactly one disagreement: whether to scale by enlarging blocks. It did, and the result is a chain where transfers cost a fraction of a cent even under load, with the same UTXO model and a shared history up to the split. As a payments asset it does what Bitcoin was originally described as doing. Both chains keep the 21 million coin cap and proof of work mining. The split was over increasing the block size limit, which Bitcoin Cash did so that it could work as the peer-to-peer electronic cash system the original paper described.

Because the histories are shared, the address formats collide in a genuinely dangerous way — legacy Bitcoin addresses are valid-looking on both chains. Use a CashAddr-format address, which begins bitcoincash: or q, rather than a legacy address that could belong to either. A BCH payout sent to a Bitcoin address is not recoverable.

This route is mostly run by people who want Bitcoin’s model at payment-friendly fees, often for a specific merchant or service that accepts BCH. It also appeals to holders who have followed the scaling argument and want a position on the other side of it. Either way, the address format check is the step that matters most. Compared to Bitcoin, BCH is the smaller digital currency by a wide margin, so a BTC to BCH exchange suits spending money rather than savings. People who started out buying Bitcoin to hold still send Bitcoin through this route when a payment calls for lower fees than the cryptocurrency Bitcoin charges.

To convert BTC to BCH, enter the exchange amount in the widget. The BCH converter tool then shows the estimated amount you will receive. That figure is the BTC to BCH conversion rate from the best of our partners at that moment, with every fee already taken off. It is a receive amount, not a mid-market price. The widget doubles as a BTC to BCH exchange and price calculator: change the amount and the BTC to BCH conversion updates with it, with no order created.

The rate moves with market conditions across the cryptocurrency market, so the estimated amount is only current until you confirm. At that point it is priced once more, and the order is created at the rate you were shown. Converting Bitcoin costs nothing beyond that figure except one thing: the Bitcoin transaction fee your own wallet pays to send the deposit. On some chains those are called gas fees. They depend on network conditions, not on us.

The exchange process has one manual step, which is sending the deposit. Everything after it is automatic. Once the exchange is completed, the BCH is in your wallet and the swap's data is purged. If something looks wrong before then — a deposit below the minimum, a transfer on the wrong network — the support team can be reached with your swap link. The refund address you set is where funds return.

Minimum amount

The live minimum amount of BTC for this pair is shown in the widget before you confirm. It moves with network conditions rather than being a fixed figure, and there is no maximum.

Network fee

The fee for delivering BCH to your wallet is already inside the receive amount. The one cost outside the quote is the Bitcoin network fee your own wallet pays to broadcast the deposit.

Exchange rate

The BTC to BCH exchange rate is compared in real time across several partners when you enter the amount, and re-priced server-side the moment you confirm, so the rate you see is the rate the order is created with.

Confirmations

The exchange runs once the BTC deposit has the network confirmations the partner requires, and Bitcoin produces a block every ~10 min. How many it waits for depends on the amount, so the tracking page shows the live count.

Every BTC to BCH swap is processed automatically as soon as the required blockchain confirmations land — no manual approval, no review queue, no waiting period we impose. Exchange Bitcoin to Bitcoin Cash here and there is no account step either, so your Bitcoin Cash leaves for your wallet as fast as network conditions allow.

• Set a refund address. It is where funds go back to automatically if the swap cannot complete. Without one a refund is still possible, but you have to contact support with your swap link and a return address first — see refund handling.

This swap needs no account, no email and no identity document, because there is no mechanism here to collect them. What is stored is the amount, the destination address and the refund address — the minimum needed to execute and, if necessary, reverse the exchange — and it is purged once the swap finalizes.

Private mode routes the exchange so that no single party sees both ends of it, at the cost of slightly more spread and one extra settlement hop. The full architecture, and what it deliberately does not promise, is on the privacy page.

1. 01
   Pick the pair and amount

   Set how much BTC you want to exchange. The widget quotes live across our partners and shows the best BCH receive amount.

2. 02
   Give two addresses

   Your BCH destination address, and a BTC refund address in case the swap cannot complete. No account, no email, no identity check.

3. 03
   Send the deposit

   Transfer the BTC from your own wallet to the address shown. Nothing is held on your behalf — it is forwarded on arrival.

4. 04
   Receive your coins

   Once the deposit confirms, the exchange executes and the BCH is sent to your address. Follow it the whole way on the tracking page.

• BCH → BTC
• BTC → XLM
• BTC → XMR
• XMR → BTC
• BTC → ZEC
• BTC → DASH
• BTC → ETH
• ETH → BTC

More about Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, or browse all exchange pairs and all supported coins.