eCash

eCash is a Layer 1 digital cash network developed by Bitcoin ABC. It descends from Bitcoin Cash, which itself forked from Bitcoin, and it rebranded to eCash in November 2020 with a redenominated unit and a revised technical roadmap.

How eCash works

eCash retains proof of work as its base security layer but adds Avalanche consensus on top of it. Avalanche in this context refers to a repeated random sampling protocol, not the separate Avalanche blockchain. Under this hybrid model, proof of work continues to order blocks while the Avalanche layer provides rapid finality, meaning transactions can be considered settled in seconds rather than waiting for multiple block confirmations. This combination is intended to give a Bitcoin-derived chain properties that pure Nakamoto consensus cannot offer, including protection against certain reorganisation attacks and support for staking rewards.

XEC has a maximum supply of 21 trillion units, with roughly 20.07 trillion in circulation. The unusual figure comes from the redenomination: the original 21 million coin cap was subdivided so that each unit is smaller, with two decimal places rather than eight.

Role in the ecosystem

eCash positions itself around the original electronic cash use case of low-fee everyday payments, which was Bitcoin Cash's founding argument for larger blocks. Its distinguishing technical contribution is the integration of Avalanche consensus with proof of work, an approach few other Bitcoin-derived chains have attempted. It competes for attention within a crowded field of payment-focused chains and Bitcoin forks. The relationship between eCash and Bitcoin Cash is worth understanding for anyone comparing them: eCash is a continuation of the Bitcoin ABC development line following a 2020 split, rather than a new project built from scratch.