BSV vs BTC vs BCH: Technical Comparison with Dates, Fees & Block Sizes
Three blockchains share the Bitcoin name but differ fundamentally in design, capacity, and purpose. This is a precise technical comparison — with exact dates, measurable figures, and a chronological record of how each chain diverged from the original protocol.
The Common Origin: Bitcoin Genesis Block, 3 January 2009
All three chains — BTC, BCH, and BSV — share a common origin: the Bitcoin genesis block, mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on 3 January 2009. The genesis block contained the message 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks', a reference to a newspaper headline that day. For the first eight years of Bitcoin's existence, there was only one chain. The divergences began in 2017, driven by a fundamental disagreement about how Bitcoin should scale — by increasing the block size on-chain, or by moving transactions off-chain to second-layer networks.
The First Fork: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) — 1 August 2017
On 1 August 2017, at block height 478,558, Bitcoin Cash forked from Bitcoin. The immediate cause was a disagreement over the block size limit. BTC's block size had been capped at 1MB since 2010, and by 2017 this was causing severe congestion — average transaction fees on BTC reached $55 in December 2017. The BCH fork increased the block size to 8MB immediately, later raising it to 32MB. BCH also removed SegWit (Segregated Witness), a BTC protocol change that BCH proponents argued was a deviation from the original design. At the time of the fork, every BTC holder received an equal amount of BCH — the two chains shared the same transaction history up to block 478,558.
The Second Fork: Bitcoin SV (BSV) — 15 November 2018
On 15 November 2018, at block height 556,766, Bitcoin SV forked from Bitcoin Cash. The BSV fork was led by nChain, a blockchain research company, and supported by the mining pool CoinGeek. The stated goal was to restore the original Bitcoin protocol as described in Satoshi Nakamoto's 2008 white paper, reversing the protocol changes BCH had made and removing the block size cap entirely. The fork followed a period of intense public disagreement — known as the 'hash war' — between the BCH and BSV camps, during which both sides directed significant mining power at their respective chains in an attempt to produce the longest chain. BSV ultimately established itself as a separate chain. Every BCH holder at block 556,766 received an equal amount of BSV.
Block Size: The Core Technical Difference
The block size limit is the most consequential technical difference between the three chains. BTC: 1MB base block size (with SegWit, the effective limit is approximately 4MB for witness data, but typical blocks are 1–2MB). BCH: 32MB block size limit, set in May 2018. BSV: No hard block size limit. The default miner policy is currently set to a 4GB soft cap, but this is a miner configuration, not a protocol rule. The largest block ever mined on BSV was 4GB, processed in September 2021 during a stress test. The largest block ever mined on BTC was approximately 2.7MB (with SegWit). The practical consequence: BSV can process thousands of times more transactions per block than BTC.
Transaction Throughput: Transactions Per Second
Theoretical and measured transaction throughput differs significantly across the three chains. BTC: approximately 3–7 transactions per second (TPS) on-chain, limited by the 1MB block size and 10-minute average block time. BCH: approximately 100–200 TPS, limited by the 32MB block size. BSV: demonstrated throughput of over 50,000 TPS in stress tests conducted by the BSV Scaling Test Network (STN) in 2021. The Teranode project, nChain's next-generation BSV node implementation, has demonstrated over 1 million TPS in controlled testing environments as of 2023. For comparison, Visa processes approximately 1,700 TPS on average and claims a peak capacity of 24,000 TPS.
Average Transaction Fees: A Measurable Comparison
Transaction fees are perhaps the most practically significant difference for users. BTC: average fee as of October 2026 is approximately $1.50–$3.00 for a standard transaction, with spikes to $50+ during periods of high demand (December 2017, April–May 2021, December 2023). BCH: average fee approximately $0.001–$0.01. BSV: average fee approximately $0.00001–$0.0001 — consistently sub-cent regardless of network activity, because the unbounded block size means there is no fee market driven by block space scarcity. These figures are verifiable on the respective chain's block explorers: mempool.space for BTC, blockchair.com for BCH, and whatsonchain.com for BSV.
SegWit: The Protocol Change That Divided Bitcoin
Segregated Witness (SegWit) was activated on BTC on 24 August 2017, at block height 481,824. SegWit restructures transaction data by separating ('segregating') the signature data ('witness') from the transaction data, which effectively increases the amount of data that can fit in a 1MB block. SegWit was controversial because critics argued it changed the transaction format in ways incompatible with the original Bitcoin protocol, and because it was a prerequisite for the Lightning Network — a second-layer payment channel system that BTC proponents favour as a scaling solution. BCH and BSV both rejected SegWit. BSV's position is that scaling should happen on-chain through larger blocks, not off-chain through payment channels.
The Lightning Network vs On-Chain Scaling
BTC's primary scaling solution is the Lightning Network, a second-layer payment channel system activated in March 2018. Lightning allows two parties to open a payment channel by locking BTC in a multi-signature address on-chain, then conduct unlimited off-chain transactions between themselves, and finally settle the net result on-chain when the channel is closed. As of October 2026, the Lightning Network has approximately 15,000–20,000 nodes and a total channel capacity of around 5,000 BTC. Critics note that Lightning requires users to lock up capital, is not suitable for payments to parties without an open channel, and has had multiple security vulnerabilities. BSV's position is that on-chain scaling through larger blocks is simpler, more secure, and more consistent with the original Bitcoin design.
Halving Schedule: Identical Monetary Policy
All three chains share Bitcoin's original halving schedule, because they share the same transaction history up to their respective fork points. The Bitcoin block reward halves approximately every 210,000 blocks (roughly every four years). Key halving dates: First halving — 28 November 2012, reward reduced from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. Second halving — 9 July 2016, reward reduced to 12.5 BTC. Third halving — 11 May 2020, reward reduced to 6.25 BTC. Fourth halving — 20 April 2024, reward reduced to 3.125 BTC. The next halving is expected in approximately April 2028, reducing the reward to 1.5625 BSV/BTC/BCH. All three chains have a hard cap of 21 million coins. As of October 2026, approximately 19.8 million of the 21 million coins have been mined across all three chains.
Key Protocol Events Timeline
3 January 2009: Bitcoin genesis block mined by Satoshi Nakamoto. 31 October 2008: Bitcoin white paper published by Satoshi Nakamoto. 22 May 2010: First real-world Bitcoin transaction — 10,000 BTC for two pizzas (Bitcoin Pizza Day). 1 August 2017: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) forks from Bitcoin at block 478,558. 24 August 2017: SegWit activated on BTC at block 481,824. 15 November 2018: Bitcoin SV (BSV) forks from Bitcoin Cash at block 556,766. 4 February 2020: BSV removes the default block size cap, setting miner policy to 2GB. 11 May 2020: Third Bitcoin halving — block reward reduced to 6.25 coins. September 2021: BSV mines a 4GB block during a scaling stress test. 2023: nChain's Teranode demonstrates over 1 million TPS in controlled testing. 20 April 2024: Fourth Bitcoin halving — block reward reduced to 3.125 coins.
Summary: Three Chains, Three Visions
BTC is digital gold — a store of value with a deliberately constrained supply of block space, high fees, and off-chain scaling through Lightning. BCH is a medium-fee payment chain with a 32MB block limit, positioned between BTC and BSV. BSV is the high-throughput, low-fee chain designed for global payments, data storage, and enterprise applications, with no block size limit and fees consistently below a thousandth of a cent. The choice between them depends entirely on what you are trying to do. For storing value with maximum security and network effect, BTC has the largest ecosystem. For everyday payments and applications requiring sub-cent fees and high throughput, BSV is the only chain where the economics work at scale. Use our BSV Price Converter to see the current BSV price in your local currency.
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