Bitcoin ABC is a full node software implementation of the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network. It was developed as a result of the Bitcoin Cash hard fork that took place in August 2017. The fork was initiated to increase the block size limit of Bitcoin from 1MB to 8MB, thereby allowing more transactions to be processed at a faster rate. Bitcoin ABC is one of the three major Bitcoin Cash clients alongside Bitcoin Unlimited and Bitcoin SV.
The ABC in Bitcoin ABC stands for Adjustable Blocksize Cap. This means that the block size limit of the Bitcoin Cash network can be adjusted according to the demand for transactions. In contrast, the block size limit of Bitcoin is fixed at 1MB. This has led to scalability issues for Bitcoin, as the number of transactions that can be processed per second is limited by the block size limit.
Bitcoin ABC was developed by a group of developers led by Amaury Séchet. Séchet was previously a software engineer at Facebook before he became involved in the Bitcoin community in 2013. He is known for his contributions to the development of Bitcoin Cash, including the implementation of the Bitcoin Cash hard fork and the development of the first Bitcoin Cash wallet.
Bitcoin ABC is open-source software, which means that anyone can contribute to its development. The software is available on GitHub, and developers can submit pull requests to suggest changes or additions to the code. The Bitcoin ABC development team is also active on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit, where they engage with the community and provide updates on the latest developments.
One of the key features of Bitcoin ABC is its support for smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts that are programmed to automatically execute when certain conditions are met. They are a key feature of blockchain technology, as they allow for the creation of decentralized applications (dApps). Bitcoin ABC supports smart contracts through the use of the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), which is a tokenization protocol that allows for the creation of new tokens on the Bitcoin Cash network.
Another feature of Bitcoin ABC is its support for Schnorr signatures. Schnorr signatures are a type of digital signature that allows for more efficient and secure signature verification. They also allow for the creation of more complex multi-signature transactions, which can improve the security of the Bitcoin Cash network.
In addition to these features, Bitcoin ABC also includes improvements to the Bitcoin Cash network’s difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA). The DAA is responsible for adjusting the difficulty of mining blocks on the network to ensure that blocks are mined at a consistent rate. The Bitcoin ABC team has made several improvements to the DAA to ensure that it responds more quickly to changes in the network’s hashrate, which can help to prevent network disruptions.
In conclusion, Bitcoin ABC is a full node software implementation of the Bitcoin Cash network that was developed to increase the block size limit of Bitcoin and improve its scalability. It includes several key features, including support for smart contracts and Schnorr signatures, as well as improvements to the network’s difficulty adjustment algorithm. Bitcoin ABC is open-source software that is available on GitHub, and its development team is active on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit.