Bitcoin SV (BSV) came into existence in 2018 after a hard fork split the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) blockchain, which itself had separated from the BTC chain one year prior during the blocksize wars.

The project asserts that it adheres to the initial vision for Bitcoin’s protocol and architecture found in Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper, early client software, and other known writings by Satoshi. BSV plans to provide the scalability and stability consistent with the original concept of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, while also establishing a distributed data network capable of supporting enterprise-grade advanced blockchain applications.

To achieve this, the network has eliminated artificial block size caps and restored Script commands along with other technical features that BTC protocol developers had previously disabled or limited. This approach reportedly enables the processing of tens of thousands of transactions per second with very low fees suitable for micropayments, alongside advanced functions like tokens, smart contracts, computation, and other data-related use cases.

BSV states that it is distinct in its ability to scale on-chain without limits and claims to align more closely with Bitcoin’s original design than any other blockchain.

The BSV node software was developed by nChain, a blockchain technology firm that has consistently issued protocol updates to reinstate the capabilities of the original Bitcoin protocol. Currently, nChain supplies the BSV Infrastructure Team, which keeps improving the node software and additional infrastructure utilities for the BSV network.

Craig Wright, the former Chief Scientist at nChain who asserts he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin, has backed BSV since the 2018 divergence from BCH. This split occurred after various BCH developers suggested contentious protocol modifications.

Calvin Ayre, an entrepreneur, is also a prominent proponent of BSV and frequently looks for investment chances in enterprises and initiatives constructing on the blockchain.

Following the separation of BSV from BCH, the BSV Association, a non-profit industry group based in Switzerland, was established. It currently aids the worldwide expansion and acceptance of the BSV blockchain and digital cash.

BSV distinguishes itself from other Bitcoin variants by claiming to follow the original protocol and fulfill the vision described in the Bitcoin whitepaper and other writings by Satoshi Nakamoto. The project aims to provide a scalable blockchain platform for electronic cash and distributed data applications suitable for consumers, enterprises, and governments.

Due to its unbounded block size, BSV scales according to market demand without needing second-layer solutions. In 2021, the network mined the world’s first gigabyte-level blocks (1000+ megabytes), reaching sizes of up to 2 GBs in August 2021. For context, 2 GBs is 2000 times larger than the 1MB block limit on the BTC network. The team expects block capacity to keep increasing to handle more transactions and data use cases.

Through tests of new node software, the BSV Infrastructure Team has allegedly shown that the network can process up to 1,000,000 transactions per second. They expect this capacity to be demonstrated on the mainnet and grow further. With this performance, BSV aims to surpass payment processors like VISA at a much lower cost.

The platform also targets developers by offering a scalable, product-ready environment. BSV claims it can scale with user adoption, ensuring that transaction fees stay low and processing remains fast.

Following the original Bitcoin protocol, the total supply of BSV coins is capped at 21 million. Miners receive newly minted coins from this limit as block rewards, which serve as extra income alongside transaction fees for their work in validating blocks. To gradually decrease the issuance of new tokens as the cap nears and to encourage miners to depend more on transaction fees than subsidies, these block rewards are reduced by 50% at set intervals.

Bitcoin SV (BSV) relies on the proof-of-work consensus model outlined in the Bitcoin white paper to maintain security. In this system, miners utilize their computing power to resolve intricate mathematical puzzles in order to append a block of fresh transactions to the blockchain. The first miner to find the solution receives the block reward along with transaction fees, and their block is incorporated into the chain. As subsequent blocks are layered on top, other nodes confirm the validity of the recorded transactions, making them extremely hard, or practically impossible, to change.

You can purchase BSV on leading cryptocurrency exchanges such as OKX, KuCoin, and HTX, along with various other trading platforms.