Quai vs Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash scales proof of work with bigger blocks that still take 10 minutes. Quai scales with more chains, confirms in about 5 seconds, and runs the full EVM. The SHA-256 hardware that mines Bitcoin Cash can mine Quai.
Facts reviewed in November 2026.
Where Quai is stronger
Blocks 120 times faster
A Quai block arrives about every 5 seconds. A Bitcoin Cash block arrives about every 10 minutes.
Scale without giant blocks
Bitcoin Cash raises the size of each block. Quai keeps each block small and raises the number of chains, and miners secure all of them together through merged mining.
The full EVM
Bitcoin Cash supports limited contracts through Script and CashTokens. Quai runs the full Ethereum Virtual Machine, so Solidity contracts and Ethereum tools work.
Bitcoin Cash blocks buy QUAI
When a Quai miner finds a Bitcoin Cash block through SOAP, the reward buys QUAI on the open market, and that QUAI is burned.
Money to save and money to spend
QUAI is the store of value, with emission that slows as the network grows. Qi is cash whose supply follows mining difficulty and the cost of energy. One network does both jobs.
At a glance
| Property | Quai (QUAI) | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) |
|---|---|---|
| Consensus | Proof of work, with PoEM consensus | Proof of work, longest chain by total work |
| Secured by | Miners with SHA-256, Scrypt, or KawPoW hardware | Miners with SHA-256 hardware |
| Block time | About 5 seconds | About 10 minutes |
| Smart contracts | Yes. The EVM runs on the base layer. | Limited. Script and CashTokens, with no EVM. |
| Supply | Emission slows as the network grows, and SOAP buybacks burn QUAI. 1.9 billion genesis QUAI was burned. | Fixed cap of 21 million. The block reward halves about every 4 years. |
| Launched | February 2025 | August 2017, as a fork of Bitcoin |
| Revenue, 12 months | $6.0M | None. Fees and block rewards go to miners. |
Revenue is protocol revenue for the last 12 months from DefiLlama. Quai's revenue is the value of the other chains' block rewards that SOAP used to buy QUAI.
How the two connect
Bitcoin Cash is a SOAP parent chain. SHA-256 miners on Quai find Bitcoin Cash blocks in the same work, and their hashrate adds to the security of Bitcoin Cash.
Questions people ask
Can Bitcoin Cash miners mine Quai?
Yes. SHA-256 hardware mines Quai. Through SOAP, the same work also finds Bitcoin Cash blocks, and the rewards from those blocks buy QUAI. The miner is paid in QUAI.
Does SOAP harm Bitcoin Cash?
No. SOAP miners produce valid Bitcoin Cash blocks, and their hashrate adds to the security of the Bitcoin Cash chain.
Which one is better for payments?
Quai confirms in about 5 seconds, against about 10 minutes for a Bitcoin Cash block. Its Qi token is designed as cash whose supply follows the cost of energy.
More comparisons
Sources
This page gives information only. It is not financial advice. See the disclaimers.