What is Bitcoin Gold?

They say Bitcoin (BTC) is digital gold. Then, what is Bitcoin Gold? Bitcoin Gold is an open-source cryptocurrency that appeared as a result of the hard fork of Bitcoin. A hard fork means a split in a blockchain that results in two parallel blockchains.

Just like BTC, BTG has a maximum supply capped at 21 million.

Quick Facts

• Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is a hard fork of Bitcoin.

• The bitcoin community pushed for the hard fork as they felt that the Bitcoin network has become centralized.

• BTGPay is the payment gateway system of Bitcoin Gold that connects merchants, services, integrators, and customers.

Where Did Bitcoin Gold Come From?

Bitcoin Gold came into existence in October 2017 after the hard fork took place. The Bitcoin community pushed for the hard fork as they felt the Bitcoin network has become centralized.

This is due to the rise of specialized mining hardware to mine Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Gold was founded by Jack Liao, CEO of LightningAsic and BitExchange. He started the project with a team of five people. The team explained the importance of making Bitcoin decentralized again.

The goal of Bitcoin Gold is to create a network where anyone can become a miner with only basic hardware.

Bitcoin Gold Advantages

1. Free open-source software project. In open-source projects, users can participate in the development process. Users who identify issues can offer solutions.

2. Doesn't require expensive equipment for mining.

3. It has a higher transaction speed compared to Bitcoin.

4. Using the Equihash algorithm which uses a memory-intensive algorithm to solve for blocks. It allows GPU mining and also prevents the centralization of currency value.

BTG Pay

BTGPay is a payment service created by the developer team. It connects merchants, services, and integrators with each other to build payment solutions. This allows consumers to find them!

BTGPay works with the most popular intermediaries, such as WooCommerce, Magento, and OpenCart. With the support of these types of applications, webpages can accept payments with BTG easily and swiftly.

In-depth, BTG Pay provides these three solutions:

1. BTG Pay helps users find the right BTG-based debit card services for their needs and locations.

2. A network of partners (solution providers, payment services, and eCommerce integrators) to merchants. With collaboration, they can easily accept Bitcoin Gold. It also serves as a brand. Consumers are able to spot that Bitcoin Gold is accepted as payment.

3. BTG Pay acts as a marketplace of merchants. Just like the statement of ‘Visa Accepted Here’, shoppers can easily see which stores they can spend their BTG on.

Bitcoin Gold vs Bitcoin

Consensus mechanisms

Bitcoin uses the original Proof-of-Work mechanism. It involves solving complex mathematical problems through the mining process to keep the blockchain network safe from attacks.

Bitcoin Gold uses the Equihash Proof-of-Work mechanism.

Equishash mechanism tunable asymmetric Proof-of-Work algorithm where it is hard to generate proof but easy to verify one.

Proof generates is a process of proving that a certain amount of a specific computational effort has been expended. It is harder to generate proof as the algorithm enables forced CPU and memory trade off.

This is the reason why ASIC miners (Bitcoin mining hardware) cannot be used to mine on the BTG blockchain.

Block Size

Bitcoin Gold does have a smaller block size than Bitcoin.

Speed

Faster transaction speeds than Bitcoin. This is due to its smaller block size.

Fees

Bitcoin Gold usually comes with higher fees than Bitcoin. Transaction fees measure the average fee in USD when a transaction is processed by a miner and confirmed.

Bitcoin Gold Nodes

The nodes are the backbone of the network. Nodes are used to validate transactions and keep the network safe. There are two nodes in Bitcoin Gold, the full node and a light node.

Full Nodes – To have a full node, you will need to download the whole blockchain. Full nodes are also called Full Validation Nodes. Which validate transactions and blocks in the blockchain.

Light Nodes – To operate they download a part of the blockchain on the device and keep it updated. Light nodes just need the headers of the blocks and memory requirements towards the device they are on are minimal. Light nodes serve no validation purposes.

How To Buy Bitcoin Gold?

You can buy Bitcoin Gold from several crypto exchanges such as Binance, Upbit, Bithumb, ByBit, and more. Bitcoin Gold can also be obtained by using Swap Services such as Changelly, Swft, and CoinSwitch. Swapping allows you to exchange any cryptocurrency for another even if the pair does not live on the spot market.

Once you get a hold of BTG coins and be a part of the network, you will need a wallet. It allows access and control of your funds. BTG can be stored in any major wallet available such as Bitcoin Gold Core Wallet, Trezor, Ledger, Exodus, Coinomi, and more. As of September 2022, BTG can be stored on 18 different wallets.

Bitcoin Gold's Key Weakness

Bitcoin Gold is a smaller blockchain using a form of Proof-of-Work mechanism. It is vulnerable to 51% of attacks.

A 51% attack involves a cybercriminal controlling over 50% of the computing power of a network. This is usually done by renting hash power from a third party to control the network.

A 51% attack by preventing transactions from being confirmed, reverse transactions, and even double-spend tokens.

The Bitcoin Gold network has suffered a number of these attacks over the past few years, including in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Final Thoughts on Bitcoin Gold

Bitcoin Gold hopes to change the paradigm around mining on the Bitcoin blockchain. With the mission of “Make Bitcoin Decentralized Again”. Their team works to make it easier for the average miner to get involved. Currently, BTG is becoming more accessible with its payment solutions. It opens more opportunities for the coin to grow.