Deep Dive
1. VM Limits & BigInt (15 May 2025)
Overview: The Velma hard fork introduced two protocol upgrades: VM Limits (CHIP-2021-05) and BigInt (CHIP-2024-07). These upgrades expanded Bitcoin Cash’s smart contract capabilities, enabling more complex financial applications like decentralized exchanges and collateralized lending.
VM Limits removed the 201-operation cap per script and increased stack element sizes from 520 bytes to 10,000 bytes, providing 100x more computational resources for contracts. BigInt lifted the 8-byte numeric limit, allowing arithmetic with numbers up to 10,000 bytes—critical for high-precision financial modeling and cross-chain bridges.
What this means: This is bullish for Bitcoin Cash because it positions BCH as a low-fee competitor to Ethereum for DeFi, with sub-penny transaction costs and instant finality. Developers can now build advanced protocols without workarounds.
(Source)
2. Post-Upgrade Ecosystem Momentum
Overview: Post-upgrade, projects like Future Bitcoin Cash (FBCH) leveraged the new features to launch automated market makers and lending platforms. The GitLab repository shows increased developer activity, with contributions from Bitcoin Cash Node, Electron Cash, and General Protocols.
What this means: The upgrades are driving real-world utility, attracting developers to build scalable payment solutions and DeFi tools. Rising GitHub commit rates (up 40% Q3 2025) signal sustained momentum.
3. Future Roadmap
Overview: Proposals to reduce block times from 10 to 2 minutes are under discussion, aiming to compete with Solana’s speed. OP_EVAL and Pay-to-Script upgrades are planned for 2026 to enhance scripting flexibility.
What this means: Faster block times could make BCH more viable for retail payments, while expanded scripting might unlock NFT and gaming use cases. However, execution risks remain if consensus isn’t reached.
Conclusion
Bitcoin Cash’s 2025 upgrades mark a strategic pivot toward smart contracts and DeFi, backed by measurable developer traction. While technical enhancements have strengthened its value proposition, adoption depends on ecosystem growth and user uptake. Could Bitcoin Cash’s focus on low-cost utility help it carve a niche against Ethereum and Solana?