Ethereum is a blockchain-based computing platform and operating system whose core innovation is enabling smart contracts. Ethereum's smart contract functionality, and versatile scripting language, have made it the most popular network for creating decentralized applications. What makes Ethereum different from Bitcoin is that its primary purpose is to serve as a general purpose blockchain for creating DApps, and not as a payment network. Ethereum was created by Vitalik Buterin. It was launched in July 2015 and has become one of the most important blockchain platforms in the industry. Ether is the native currency of the Ethereum blockchain and can can be used as a transfer of value, as well as a form of compensation for mining. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) executes scripts using a network of public nodes. "Gas" is used as an internal transaction pricing mechanism that decides how resources are used on the network.

Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency that was created as a result of a hard fork of the original Bitcoin blockchain that took place in 2017. Due to the open source nature of the Bitcoin protocol, and the lack of a central governing body to resolve disputes, the Bitcoin community became extremely divided about what to do about rising fees and slow transaction times. As the platform's transaction volume increased, and the associated fees to confirm them also increased dramatically, many people began advocating for a larger block size.
In mid 2017, a group of developers introduced segregated witness technology, or SegWit, that was designed to increase Bitcoin's scalability by moving some transaction details off of the blockchain. Segwit was meant to resolve the issues that revolved around the growing amount of transaction data, but many members of the Bitcoin community felt that it undermined the original vision outlined by Satoshi Nakamoto.
On August 1, 2017, they initiated a hard fork of the protocol that created Bitcoin Cash and implemented an increased block size of 8mb. At the time of the fork, bitcoin holders automatically became owners of the same number of Bitcoin Cash units. The increased block size led to faster transaction times and made Bitcoin Cash easier to use as a medium of exchange.