As if the cryptocurrency markets couldnt get any crazier, here comes Bitcoin Gold, the fork that forked and people forgot about getting ready for its officil release Nov. 12th, 2017.
This new version of BTC, entitled Bitcoin Gold is the second project to fork away from the Bitcoin blockchain and become a new coin this year. This followed Bitcoin Cash.
Where Bcash attempted to offer an on-chain scaling solution by increasing Bitcoin’s block size limit (while removing the Segregated Witness code), Bgold is an attempt to counter Bitcoin’s mining centralization.
The most important difference between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Gold is a new proof-of-work mining algorithm. Instead of SHA256, the new coin uses the memory-hard Equihash proof-of-work function that’s also used in the privacy-focused altcoin Zcash. This means that specialized ASIC hardware that has come to dominate Bitcoin’s mining ecosystem will not be able to mine Bgold.
Now this presents an interesting opportunity in my opinion! Clearly China and their miners will prefer the ASIC version because they control the market. Bitcoin Gold may become the western banker's choice because it won't be easily controllable and therefore supporting it to get people to move away from Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash could become a real priority.
Although Bgold is launching this weekend, the fork “officially” occurred on October 25. Anyone who held bitcoin (BTC) on that day (specifically, when Bitcoin block 491406 was mined) will have an equivalent amount of BTG attributed to their private keys. These private keys can be imported into a dedicated Bgold wallet, which, starting tomorrow, will allow users to spend the coins. (But note that this does not come without risks and tradeoffs: If you’re not sure what you’re doing, it’s best not to ignore BTG until you do. For more information als see this article.)
Well, I know people that will be happy to hear this news! They've been waiting for their digital gold for weeks now.
What do you think will happen with these three bitcoins? Which will be the winner that takes all, BTC BCC/BCH or BTG?
Please leave your thoughts and comments below!
Thanks for reading!
Source:
Bitcoin Gold Launches Tomorrow - Bitcoin Magazine