What is Bitcoin SV (BSV)?

By CMC AI
05 December 2025 09:59PM (UTC+0)

TLDR

Bitcoin SV (BSV) is a blockchain platform aiming to fulfill Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision for Bitcoin as a scalable peer-to-peer electronic cash system and enterprise data network.

  1. Origins: Forked from Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in 2018 to restore Bitcoin’s original protocol.

  2. Scalability: Removes block size limits, enabling gigabyte blocks and 1M+ transactions per second.

  3. Enterprise Focus: Targets regulated, high-volume use cases like micropayments and data applications.


Deep Dive

1. Purpose & Value Proposition

BSV emerged to address Bitcoin Cash’s protocol instability, aiming to lock down the Bitcoin protocol as described in Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 white paper. Its primary goals are:
- Electronic Cash: Enable low-fee micropayments (≈$0.0027 per transaction) for everyday use.
- Data Network: Support enterprise-level applications like tokenization, smart contracts, and immutable data storage.

By prioritizing protocol stability, BSV seeks to provide a reliable foundation for businesses, contrasting with BTC’s focus on store-of-value and BCH’s experimental upgrades.

2. Technology & Architecture

BSV distinguishes itself through unbounded on-chain scaling:
- Block Size: Mined 2 GB blocks in 2021, far exceeding BTC’s 1 MB cap.
- Throughput: Claims capacity for 1M+ transactions/second, rivaling Visa.
- Restored Features: Re-enabled original Bitcoin opcodes (e.g., OP_MUL, OP_LSHIFT) for advanced scripting.

This design avoids second-layer solutions (like Lightning Network), aiming to scale directly on-chain while maintaining sub-cent fees.

3. Key Differentiators

  • Regulation-Friendly: Actively courts enterprise and government adoption, emphasizing compliance.
  • Enterprise Tools: Offers infrastructure like SPV wallets, tokenization protocols, and APIs for developers.
  • Ecosystem: Hosts applications like Twetch (social media), Centbee (wallet), and enterprise solutions by nChain.

Conclusion

Bitcoin SV positions itself as the “original Bitcoin” rebooted for global commerce, combining massive scalability with protocol stability. While its technical achievements—like gigabyte blocks—are notable, adoption remains concentrated in niche enterprise use cases.

Open Question: Can BSV’s on-chain scaling model sustainably compete with hybrid (L1+L2) approaches used by Ethereum and Solana?

CMC AI can make mistakes. Not financial advice.