CashTokens for beginners: what that token in your BCH wallet actually is

• 1. The only thing that identifies a token: the category ID
• 2. Where names and icons come from: BCMR
• 3. You need a token-aware wallet
• 4. Checking a token in 30 seconds
• 5. Unsolicited tokens

Since May 2023, Bitcoin Cash can carry tokens natively (CashTokens). No separate chain, no smart-contract approvals: a token rides inside a normal BCH output, next to a small amount of BCH (the “dust” that carries it).

§1. The only thing that identifies a token: the category ID

Every token type has a 64-hex-character category ID (it comes from the transaction output that was spent to create the token, so it can never be reused).

• Names, tickers and icons are just metadata. Anyone can create a token called “PUSD” with the PUSD logo.
• Two tokens with the same name but different category IDs are different tokens. Always compare the ID.
• Example: the real PUSD category is 2469acc5afa4b10cb5b5c04afb89c3a3ffd61c5da9c01e26d00951cae2a02544 (as listed on paryonusd.com, checked Nov 2).

§2. Where names and icons come from: BCMR

Token metadata is published as a BCMR (Bitcoin Cash Metadata Registry) JSON file, published by the token’s issuer and tied to the token’s authchain (a chain of transactions that proves who controls the metadata). Wallets and indexers (e.g. Paytaca’s BCMR indexer) read it. No BCMR = the wallet shows a raw ID only. That’s not proof of a scam, but be careful.

§3. You need a token-aware wallet

Tokens sit on token-aware addresses (a normal wallet address starts with bitcoincash:z instead of bitcoincash:q). Sending tokens to an old wallet that doesn’t understand them risks losing them.
Token-aware wallets: Paytaca, Cashonize, Electron Cash (4.3.0 and later). (In Electron Cash, tokens stay hidden until you turn on View -> Show CashTokens; use a current release, 4.4.5 as of May 2026.)

§4. Checking a token in 30 seconds

1. Copy the category ID from your wallet (not the name).
2. Paste it at https://bch-token-check.surge.sh (free, no login; it reads the public BCMR index).
3. Look at: name/ticker match, registry URL, the issuer’s own site, and red flags (no metadata, lookalike name).
4. If the issuer’s official site lists a different ID: it’s a copy.

§5. Unsolicited tokens

Free tokens that just show up are often bait (“visit this site to claim”). Holding them is harmless; following links or signing things to “claim” them is not.

Tips welcome (BCH): bitcoincash:qqheja48x3q3u8vxv5eue74gzpcf6x49cs5zxa36g7