$0.00000655

eCash (XEC) is a Layer-1 digital cash network developed by Bitcoin ABC, launched on November 15, 2020. It integrates the Avalanche consensus with its core proof-of-work (PoW) layer, distinguishing it from other Bitcoin clients. The development roadmap focuses on three main goals: scaling transaction throughput from about 100 transactions per second to over 5,000,000, achieving near-instant transaction finality, and enabling fork-free protocol upgrades for faster iteration.

eCash (XEC) was founded by Amaury Séchet, who previously led the Bitcoin ABC node software team and founded Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The Bitcoin ABC team split from BCH, creating a minority fork initially named Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHA), which was rebranded to eCash (XEC) on July 1, 2021. Séchet's background includes roles as a lead developer at Snazzy D Compiler and a software engineer at Facebook, focusing on database scaling and digital cash research. The Bitcoin ABC team specializes in scaling solutions.

eCash (XEC) uniquely integrates the Avalanche protocol with its core Nakamoto consensus, unlike typical PoW/PoS Masternode solutions. Avalanche enables consensus within 2 seconds, compared to Bitcoin's 10-minute block times, allowing real-time node communication for finer-grained decisions. This integration preserves Bitcoin's trustless and decentralized nature while adding flexibility, security, and speed. Additionally, eCash supports permissionless subnets, enabling protocol changes while pegged to the main chain, with plans for an EVM subnet for DeFi interoperability and a ZK subnet for privacy. The network also offers eTokens, a colored-coins implementation based on the Simple Ledger Protocol, allowing easy creation of fungible tokens and NFTs.

As a Bitcoin fork, eCash (XEC) follows Bitcoin's supply and distribution model. The ledger history dates back to 2009, so the coin is already 95% distributed, with no token unlocks, vesting, or founder allotment. Mining rewards halve every 210,000 blocks, approximately every four years. The total supply cap is 2.1 quadrillion satoshis, but divided by 100 instead of 100 million, yielding 21 trillion XEC. This adjustment aims to make handling integers easier for users, aligning with the goal of mass adoption.

eCash (XEC) secures its network through a hybrid consensus combining proof-of-work (PoW) and an optional Avalanche protocol. The Avalanche layer uses stake-proofs for Sybil resistance, functioning as proof-of-stake (PoS), but it does not generate blocks or validate transactions. Instead, it performs additional polling to prevent 51% attacks on blocks and transactions already validated by PoW. The current integration, called Avalanche Post-Consensus, securely finalizes each block and enables real-time difficulty adjustment. The upcoming Avalanche Pre-Consensus will finalize transactions in under 2 seconds, preventing double-spending. eCash is not an ERC-20 token and is unrelated to the Avalanche Blockchain (AVAX).

On September 14, 2022, eCash upgraded to support block finalization using Avalanche Post-Consensus, allowing nodes to agree on the current block status and enabling secure transaction finalization after one block. Most exchanges supporting eCash have integrated this feature, reducing deposit times. The second stage, Avalanche Pre-Consensus, is in late-stage development and will finalize transactions within 2 seconds, regardless of block confirmations. On November 15, 2023, staking rewards went live, making eCash the first Bitcoin implementation to incorporate staking rewards, enabled by Avalanche's granular consensus.

eCash (XEC) can be purchased on several cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, HTX, CoinEx, Gate.io, and Upbit. It is also directly purchasable with USD on Guardarian. For a comprehensive list of services supporting eCash, you can refer to scorecard.cash and buyecash.com.