A new cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Gold, has been created after another Bitcoin fork that happened today.
According to Coindesk, people behind the Bitcoin Gold (BTG) finally initiated the hard fork split from the Bitcoin blockchain that resulted in the creation of their new digital currency. The process which began in July was initiated at block 491,407 of the legacy Bitcoin (BTC).
The team responsible for the split was said to have released a ‘snapshot’ of the Bitcoin blockchain giving birth to the new cryptocurrency. This means that their BTC blockchain could now be tweaked, reconfigured, and recreated with a new set of rules.
The #Bitcoin hard fork has been initiated, giving birth to the #BitcoinGoldClick To TweetIt should be remembered that in August this year, the controversial cryptocurrency went through its first network hard fork which gave birth to Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
The preliminary processes to setup Bitcoin Gold are already underway and like with the Bitcoin Cash, the new digital currency will be released to all existing Bitcoin users after the setup stage is complete. According to the BTG website which is currently down as of writing:
“The purpose of Bitcoin Gold is to make Bitcoin mining decentralized again. Satoshi Nakamoto’s idealistic vision of ‘one CPU one vote’ has been superseded by a reality where the manufacture and distribution of mining equipment has become dominated by a very small number of entities, some of which have engaged in abusive practices against individual miners and the Bitcoin network as a whole.”
What We Know About the Bitcoin Gold and the Hard Fork
According to a story from Coinspeaker, a specific group of Bitcoin miners has argued that the existence of too many private players wanting to get involved with the mining process has changed the way the Bitcoin network should be operated.
Apparently, these ‘many private players’ have taken control of the blockchain operation. So, to weaken their grip, the Bitcoin Gold will make use of a new algorithm that will require cheaper graphics processing units (GPUs).
The tactic aims to counter Bitcoin’s current mining process which is highly dependent on the application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that are expensive and often require massive investments. It appears that the method gives the control to few wealthy, private players and makes it difficult for ordinary miners to reach.
The Bitcoin Gold initiators argue that large companies are manipulating the mining process with their financial influence. Thus, these large-scale miners violate Bitcoin’s primary value proposition which is to have a decentralized mining process. Read more about Russia’s mining farms here.
“By changing Bitcoin’s proof-of-work algorithm from SHA256 to Equihash, all of the specialized SHA256 mining equipment will be obsolete for mining the Bitcoin Gold blockchain. Thus, Bitcoin Gold will provide an opportunity for countless new people around the world to participate in the mining process with widely-available consumer hardware that is manufactured and distributed by reputable mainstream corporations. A more decentralized, democratic mining infrastructure is more resilient and more in line with Satoshi’s original vision,” Coinspeaker wrote.
Recently, Bitcoin Gold developers said that the initial coin distribution method of BTG would be the same as that of the Bitcoin Cash.
“All Bitcoin holders who possess BTC private keys on October 25 (block 491 407) will receive Bitcoin Gold on the rate of 1 BTC = 1 BTG (If you have 20 BTC you will receive 20 BTG). You need to control BTC private keys in order to make Bitcoin Gold transactions,” they said on the BTG Website.
The BTG developers are aiming for a November 1st public opening for the new cryptocurrency.
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