The Bitcoin Cash network is scheduled for a major upgrade on May 15, 2025, introducing new consensus rules to improve efficiency and scalability, addressing challenges in fast and reliable transaction processing. This update implements two key proposals: CHIP-2021-05 VM Limits and CHIP-2024-07 BigInt, which aim to enhance transaction processing and support a broader range of financial applications. CHIP-2021-05 VM Limits establishes optimized limits on virtual machine (VM) execution—the components responsible for script interpretation and transaction validation—to prevent excessive computational demands from individual transactions. This ensures smoother operations and avoids slowdowns caused by complex or resource-heavy transactions. CHIP-2024-07 BigInt adds high-precision arithmetic capabilities, allowing for calculations involving larger numbers and greater accuracy. This upgrade equips the network to support advanced smart contracts, sophisticated financial instruments, and applications requiring precise asset management. The new consensus rules will activate when the network’s median time past (MTP) of the latest 11 blocks reaches the UNIX timestamp 1747310400, corresponding to May 15, 2025, at 12:00:00 UTC.

Using MTP provides a decentralized and tamper-resistant mechanism for deployment, requiring network-wide consensus. This upgrade reflects the Bitcoin Cash community’s ongoing commitment to evolve the protocol by enhancing scalability and efficiency, enabling higher transaction volumes with faster confirmations and lower fees—critical as cryptocurrency adoption grows. Comprehensive technical documentation is available, offering detailed explanations and implementation guidance for developers, miners, exchanges, and businesses to prepare their infrastructure. The upgrade also highlights the collaborative spirit within the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem, where community input shapes protocol improvements. By addressing limitations through these proposals, the network reinforces its adaptability and dedication to improving user experience and supporting diverse applications. Overall, the May 15, 2025 upgrade is a significant milestone that optimizes VM execution limits and introduces big integer arithmetic, paving the way for a more robust and versatile blockchain platform. Stakeholders are encouraged to review the specifications and participate actively in this important transition. For further details and technical resources, visit the official upgrade website at upgradespecs. bitcoincashnode. org, which provides up-to-date information and guidance to ensure a smooth upgrade process and maximize the benefits of these protocol enhancements.