What is Bitcoin Gold (Bitcoin Gold) in simple words: history, course and how to buy

2019-08-22 00:00:00:

With the progress of the cryptocurrency market, the demand for the most popular coins is actively growing. The mining conditions change, the cost and rate increase. Many cryptocurrency platforms are becoming inaccessible to the average user. In order to mine crypt, you need to have expensive equipment, which, unfortunately, not everyone can afford. Bitcoin Gold was a real breakthrough in this regard. The developers have created a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin, but with fundamental differences, the main one of which is a new operating protocol. According to him, anyone who wants to can mine Gold. The main condition for this is the availability of an appropriate video card. There are no other requirements for the technical characteristics of the computer.

What is Bitcoin Gold (BTG)

To understand what Bitcoin Gold is, you need to delve deeper into theory. Probably Bitcoin Gold is the most decentralized cryptocurrency among all known. Its creator is Jack Liao. For a long time he was engaged in supplying mining equipment. BTG strives to be the very best in digital gold... And the developer even came up with a method through which this will become possible. He attempted to solve the problem of centralized mining. Make it possible. If we change the algorithms of proof of the work done. To do this, Bitcoin Gold uses hashing algorithms. They are optimized for GPU mining. Thus, a miner can use a GPU instead of the usual ASIC, which greatly expands the circle of those who can mine Bitcoin Gold. The developers are confident that this will allow achieving maximum decentralization, and also reduce the unconditional influence of the largest companies on the mining of crypto.

Yes, the developers are optimistic and are doing everything possible to bring their own wildest ideas in life. But each coin has two medals. There are critics who do not believe that such a scheme will be successful and help achieve global decentralization, because the graphics card market is controlled by the largest companies in the world - Nvidia and AMD. Integrated circuits, which are specialized, differ in processors. Such processors, unlike others, are programmed for only one simple operation. But they do it very efficiently and efficiently.

Today, mining is completely dependent on equipment based on these processors, which, by the way, are produced by the same large companies. This is because the Proof-of-Work algorithm uses the SHA-256 hash function. It is simple to carry out calculations, you do not need to have too much RAM. In contrast, Equihash is a very complex hashing function, a prerequisite for it is a large amount of RAM. Why all this comparison? Its simple: to understand that Equihash ASICs will be quite expensive. Accordingly, the ASIC in Bitcoin Gold crypto mining has no advantages.

History of cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash

The history of Bitcoin Gold began in 2017 when Jack Liao, the director of a mining company from Hong Kong, decided to create the newest cryptocurrency of its kind. According to his far-reaching idea, it was this crypt that was designed to solve urgent, but such important problems - to optimize the Bitcoin protocols, reduce the monopolization of mining, and increase the network bandwidth.

But the most important goal set by the developers in the person of Liao and the team of blockchain specialists is to make mining affordable and as simple as possible, to get away from using ASIC miners. That is why they suggested using the Equihash ZCash algorithm. With its help, coins can be mined exclusively using only a video card. And this is very correct, at least from the point of view that such equipment is much more affordable.

The launch of the coin took place at the end of October 2017, at the same time the fork of the Bitcoin blockchain took place. The total supply of coins is 21 million. One block is generated within 10 minutes. But most importantly, bitcoin holders have a new cryptocurrency with an interesting ratio of 1 BTC to 1 BTG. The cost of Bitcoin Gold started at $ 600. Therefore, this fork has become the most profitable in the history of cryptocurrency.

Particular attention has been paid to network security. At the moment when BTG was launched, the developers made a loud statement: the network is 100% secure and repeated transactions within it are simply impossible. Also, a huge plus was the fact that the team cooperates with the largest pools, which increased the potential of BTG many times over and almost instantly.

BTG was expected to replicate and even exceed the success of Bitcoin Cash . But, unfortunately, this never happened. The point is most likely that it practically does not differ from the Bitcoin blockchain. A significant difference is in the use of a special algorithm that allows you to mine coins only using video cards.

Distinctive features

BTG duplicates the blockchain of its original until October 2017. Cryptocoins also have the same limit - 21 million coins, and the block is formed within the same time - 10 minutes. On this, perhaps, you can put an end to the same characteristics. Otherwise, Gold has its own characteristics that distinguish this crypt from many others.

The main idea behind this hard fork is to decentralize the network. The emphasis is on industrial mining Bitcoins and esters . But this will focus the receipt of coins in several pools, and this is a security threat to the entire system, which the developers also tried to solve. Their main goal is to decentralize the mining of coins by users, which will equalize the rights of all users and make it possible to earn Gold even from home computers. And the first step towards this was taken - the algorithm was replaced with Equicash, while managing to preserve the old operating protocol.

The new algorithm is complex and demanding in relation to RAM. This complicates the development of ASIC devices for it, which are specialized. Of course, it is quite possible to develop them, despite all the difficulties. But is it justified? The question is completely different. The point is that the performance will not increase much compared to video cards. And given the complexity of assemblies, the question of the profitability of such devices remains open. In simple terms, it is completely impractical, costly and will not bring any transcendental results. Considering all of the above, it is possible to draw a completely logical conclusion and highlight the most important aspects of BTG, which, in fact, can be called its undeniable advantages. This is the new Equicash algorithm, which has not been practically used until then, as well as the ability to mine crypto without ASIC devices, using only the GPU. Yes, there is another indisputable advantage: the complexity of the algorithm is recalculated after each block, and not once every couple of weeks.

And further. The developers suggested creating unique addresses that would distinguish BTG from the original and other hard forks.

How BTG works

The new BTG hard fork cryptocurrency has many significant differences from the traditional and well-known bitcoin. The first most important principle that distinguishes it is quite favorable conditions on which funds are deposited and withdrawn. Lets consider the principles in more detail.

1. Transfer speed. You can send money in any direction. At the same time, transactions are processed instantly, and funds are credited to the account at lightning speed. This is extremely important because users do not have to wait and worry about what will happen to their money next. This state of affairs increases user confidence, and makes the system more in demand and popular.
2. Commissions. Fees are minimal, which also boosts BTGs popularity.
3. Confidentiality. This is one of the main advantages of this cryptocurrency. All participants in the action remain confidential thanks to a special protocol that protects personal data. Complete decentralization, which is a top priority for developers, also provides a kind of protection for user information.

BTG is an alternative cryptocurrency . You can get it even on the simplest home computer; this process does not require expensive equipment that ordinary users cannot afford. This condition - the availability of equipment - made the mining process inaccessible for everyone. Only large companies that were ready to invest large investments in earnings could earn coins in this way. This is exactly what happened with bitcoins. The popularity of the latter, as well as the exorbitant growth of their value, turned away ordinary users from the crypt. And this is not surprising, because buying expensive equipment with which you can confirm transactions is an expensive pleasure that not everyone can afford to mine.

Pros and cons of Bitcoin Gold

No matter how interesting and promising a project is, it always has both positive and negative characteristics. BTG was no exception. Its strengths are undoubtedly the use of the latest Equihash algorithm. Its main advantage is that most users do not have an urgent need to purchase expensive, and, by the way, not always justified equipment, which must be installed on a PC in order to mine coins. Equihash makes it much easier to earn crypto coins. For this, only the video card is used. Other benefits include:

• high ability of the network to resist attacks;
• excellent performance;
• complete protection of users from hacker attacks.

As for the shortcomings, the main one, perhaps, is that the prospects of the coin are not yet fully understood. Yes, the project has a good base. But the rate of crypto coins cannot be called stable. Although, however, in the past few months, stability has emerged.

Well, the course is generally unstable, so it would not be entirely correct to classify it as an advantage or disadvantage. Moreover, the coin has much more global disadvantages. For example, many investors report poor duplication protection. That is why concepts such as Bitcoin Gold and Bitcoin can still be confused by different services. This can lead to the fact that some operations are completely prohibited and remain closed.

Another problem is that the developers decided to pre-mine at the dawn of the crypt. What has become the subject of controversy within the cryptocurrency society. According to the project administration, this measure was necessary and was caused by the fact that the new currency did not have financial support. Whatever it was, but how many coins were mined by the developers during this forced measure, remains a mystery, shrouded in darkness.

This is not to say that the shortcomings of the crypt are global and fatal. They are easy to solve with the right approach, which is what the creators of the currency are trying to do. Only time will tell how well they succeed. Well, for us, ordinary users, in this situation there is nothing left to do but wait. And hope that these expectations will come true in full.

Is there Bitcoin Gold mining?

Mining of coins became possible in November 2017. As already noted, the process depends entirely on the Equihash algorithm. You dont need expensive equipment to successfully mine coins. But some requirements are still imposed on him. So, for example, the operating system should be no older than Windows 7, and RAM - from 4 gigs. The biggest requirements, of course, concern the video card. It should be as powerful as possible. As for the processor, it can be absolutely anything, because the loads on it during the mining process are practically not provided.

So, if you have everything you need, it remains only to install the miner - a special program that can be downloaded from the official website. The software is selected by the software and in many respects this choice depends on the installed video card.

To start the mining process, you need.

1. Create a crypto wallet .
2. Copy his address.
3. Go to Windows settings.
4. Disable automatic updates, sleep mode, etc.
5. Open script file.
6. Enter your username / password.
7. Select a pool, enter its address into the miner.
8. Launch mining

Get ready for the fact that funds will be credited to the wallet quite often - several times a day.

I would like to dwell on the issue of pool selection in more detail. There are several types of pools with which you can get crypt. Before choosing one of them, you should understand what each of them is.

1. Minergate. It is the largest pool of international importance. You dont have to spend a lot of time to connect to it - the process will take no more than 10 minutes. But all the necessary equipment should be at hand. The service is very convenient and opens up the possibility of mixed mining.
2. Miners. This pool is professional. Computing servers are fully protected by a special protocol. You can mine both through joint puts and through solo ones. Differs in many interesting and useful features.
3. Suprnova. It is considered one of the top pools that works with the popular crypt, fork and altcoin. The service is international, so the servers are located in several countries at once. The platform is based on the same Equihash algorithm. The pool works under standard conditions for solo mining. But the receipt of crypto coins is much faster, however, the earnings are somewhat less.

In summary, it is worth focusing on the fact that all pools are united by a single risk - the possibility of fraud. Therefore, their choice should be given special attention, be able to calculate all the possible advantages and disadvantages of services, assess the risks. And in the end, draw the right conclusions, giving preference to the most reliable sites. To make sure of reliability, take the time to study information from the forums, read reviews. This is the only way you can be sure of the selected service and know that no unforeseen circumstances will happen to your funds.

How do I buy or sell Bitcoin Gold?

There are two ways to buy BTG, like most other cryptocurrencies. The first involves the use of fiat money. The purchase takes place at exchange offices. The second option is to buy Bitcoins or Tether, which will ensure the receipt of Gold. The trusted exchange for transactions is Binance. Lets consider both options in more detail.

Lets start with exchangers. First you need to find a suitable one. To do this, you can use a search engine, and manually start searching on your own, studying possible offers and choosing the most profitable and suitable ones among them. As an example, consider the polchange.ru service. It monitors exchangers and provides up-to-date information about the available rates and the quality of the services provided by this or that platform. This way you can choose the most suitable exchange place. After that, study the information about exchangers, read reviews and conditions necessary for carrying out transactions. Most exchangers offer to follow standard procedures - to register and identify by providing your data.

Cryptocurrency exchangers are much more convenient to use than exchanges, at least, the reviews of most users speak about this (we wrote a comparative article about cryptocurrency exchanges and exchangers here ). To make the most profitable purchase, it is better to initially buy bitcoins, and then exchange them for Gold. Lets consider how to exchange YandexMoney for Bitcoin and then Gold on the verified 24PayBank service. To do this, it is enough to select the exchange direction on our cryptocurrency exchanger, for us it is YAD - BTC . But this is just an example, you can choose your own direction. Then, following the instructions, you must enter all the data that will be required for the transaction. After filling in the fields, click on the beginning of the exchange, then check the correctness of the entered information again, and only then proceed to payment.

The resource will automatically transfer you to the YAD payment page. If you pay with a bank card, you must go through verification. There is no need to be afraid of this, the procedure is simple and proven. The processing time of the application is no longer than a quarter of an hour, after this time the bitcoins will be credited to your wallet.

But that is not all. Now the task is to exchange them for Golds. To do this, go to the 24paybank exchanger and change to BTG there, but there you can buy directly.

Today the Bitcoin Gold rate is:

• Bitcoin Gold against the ruble: 1 to 1,179.73;
• Bitcoin Gold against the dollar: 1 to 18.6.

The rate of the crypt has been constantly changing, mountains and falls have been observed over the entire existence of Gold. The start of the coin began with a record price of $ 480. In just a couple of days, the price rose to $ 540, but very soon dropped to $ 127. A large-scale correction was stopped by a massive listing. In just a month, the exchange rate stabilized and settled within $ 480. Capitalization (do not know what capitalization is? This article is for you) at the same time exceeded 5.5 billion.

Instability was marked by the second half of autumn 2017. Fluctuations were significant: now $ 400, now sharply - $ 120. At the beginning of 2018, a protracted downward period began. The drop in quotations was caused by many factors, both internal and external. In addition, during this period, the cryptocurrency had a rather serious competitor - Zcash , using Equihash, but with more profitable mining and better technical characteristics.

In March 18, the price fluctuated around $ 60, capitalization fell to a billion. The quotation decreased daily and in a month it dropped by half. The reason for this was a large-scale attack on the network. Attackers stole about 30 thousand bitcoins. This state of affairs greatly undermined the position of the altcoin, and its delisting began.

The historical minimum fell at the beginning of this year. During this period, the price dropped to $ 9, and capitalization - to 170 million. It would seem that here it is - a collapse. But unexpectedly for everyone, quotations began to grow in February. At this time, the management published a new roadmap and gave a full report on the technical audit. As a result, the situation has changed dramatically. The rate increased by 200%, today its daily dynamics is + 3%.

Where to store Bitcoin Gold

There are several ways to store Bitcoin Gold. The easiest and most proven one is to use an official cold wallet. In addition, there are all kinds of mobile wallets. You can also create a special wallet on the exchange where you directly trade Gold.

Where can I get an official wallet? You can download the cold wallet freely on the official website of the cryptocurrency bitcoingold.org. In this case, the storage is maintained by the system itself. So, Windows OS supports different versions - both 32 and 64-bit. It all depends on your needs and the capabilities of your computer. Wallets for Linux and Mac are downloaded separately. It should be understood that the weight of this wallet can be very large - up to 150 gigs. Therefore, before installing it, you should take care that there is enough free space on your computer, otherwise all attempts will be crowned with failure. The peculiarity of the wallet is that it automatically synchronizes with cryptocurrency blockchains and stores information about blocks on the network. By the way, many experts call this method of storing crypts the most reliable and secure.

If the synchronization process after installing cold storage does not start or takes too long, it is worth doing it manually. This is easy to do by following the instructions.

1. Create a shortcut bitcoin-qt.exe.
2. Go to the properties of the shortcut.
3. Register parameter - bootstrap.
4. Download the node.
5. Register the port in node 8333.
6. Synchronize to block 491407.
7. Close shortcut.
8. Open a regular file.

Of course, in most cases, synchronization does not cause problems and happens automatically. But if, nevertheless, an unforeseen situation arises, you will meet her fully armed.

The popularity of the coin is growing every day. It is promising and has a lot of hopes for both developers and ordinary users. As such, third-party developers also include crypto in their wallets. Therefore, today, in addition to the official wallet, which was discussed above, other storages are available - online, desktop, mobile. The most popular and proven options are presented below.

1. Exodus. The crypt storage site occupies a leading position in the segment. Many crypto coins can be kept in this vault. A huge plus is the presence of an internal exchanger for altcoins. But to use it, you have to pay a commission. Inside the system, you can also create backups if any failures occur with the system. By the way, such backups are recommended to be done regularly once a month. In this case, it is better to save a copy on a computer, cloud storage or removable disk.
2. BTGwallet.online. The service is simple, however, it provides an address for mining or buying Golds. Long-term storage of coins on this service is undesirable. But for the initial purposes, the site will do just fine. As funds grow, of course, something more serious will have to be selected and installed.
3. BTGOnline. The site has almost the same parameters as the previous one. Its advantage is the availability of a full-fledged Russian-language version. On the service, you can not only conduct transactions, but also exchange Bitcoin Gold. But the commission is much higher than on the exchanges.
4. Coinomi. This mobile application is in the lead in comparison with other similar ones. By the way, it is also very convenient. After all, you can store and send crypto coins directly from your smartphone. The application will be especially relevant for those who carry out many operations at the same time, and the PC is not always available. At the same time, the developers do not advise keeping the crypt on such a wallet for a long time. This is primarily due to the fact that smartphones do not have a high level of protection. But as a transshipment point, such an application is very relevant.
5. Freewallet. With the help of a startup, you can simulate wallets for many cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin Gold was no exception . The application is simple enough, but quite reliable.

As you can see, there are really many methods for storing Golds. Now you know their advantages and disadvantages. The choice, of course, is only for you. We can recommend dividing the coins into several crypto wallets: if something happens to one, the rest of the coins will remain safe. Of course, for large volumes of cryptocurrency that is not in active circulation, it is better to choose only official cold wallets. They are the most reliable and secure. Active traders can use mobile applications - it is simple and convenient, and access to assets is always, as they say, at hand.

Emission Bitcoin Gold

Quite a logical question - how much Bitcoin Gold is there? It is not possible to name the exact amount at the moment. It is known that the maximum emission of Bitcoin Gold is 21 million coins.

What is secured by Bitcoin Gold

Bitcoin Gold is a decentralized crypto coin, which can be mined thanks to the Equihash algorithm. Its distinctive feature is that it is very demanding on the computers RAM, or rather, its amount. But industrial mining is almost impossible, because this algorithm makes the creation of equipment for it very difficult and expensive. Mining on a video card is becoming very popular, it is this algorithm that makes it possible, and also opens access to the process for ordinary users.

The future of Bitcoin Gold

Initially, mining Gold, like many new cryptocurrencies, was available to most users who have equal opportunities in this process. But as the altcoin progresses and increases in relevance, as well as its value, which, in fact, is happening now with Gold, large companies are involved in the process. Gold does not have any original ideas with which you can pay for goods, develop platforms or improve functionality. But its main priority is that the developers have put the right emphasis and are focused on ensuring that Bitcoin returns to decentralization. Crucially, the developers dont present themselves in a competitive light for the original. Rather, they are positioning their altcoin as support for the main cryptocurrency, the benchmark for which is successful mining among all users. The appeal of this is undoubtedly great. Users can mine coins without spending too much.

Many experts are interested in this hard fork. Naturally, they began to study, analyze and come to certain conclusions regarding the future of the crypt. So, in the opinion of most experts, Gold is waiting for success, and considerable. However, many point to a stabilization period. According to the conclusions, in the next few months, or even a whole year, Gold will show high levels of volatility. The reason for this is technical vulnerability and instability due to the introduction of innovations.

During the hard fork, bitcoin holders received the same amount of Gold. The new cryptocurrency was supported by exchanges, the course started at $ 500. But large sales further affected the price and led to its decline. Analysts note that swings are quite an expected phenomenon for the nearest period. But the result should be the stabilization of the coin and the determination of its real value.

The future of Bitcoin Gold has vague predictions, no specifics. Of course, there is potential for growth. This means that if you correctly implement the idea, you can count on a good return on investment. By the way, any project related to cryptocurrency at the initial stage of its development is suspect and vulnerable.

Based on the above factors, investors are still apprehensive about Gold, but they do not lose sight of him, and even more so they do not write off it as a promising cryptocurrency, which in the near future may profitably “shoot”. Moreover, today Bitcoin Gold is in the top 10 in terms of capitalization, and this already says a lot. If user activity increases or at least remains at the same level, BTG will actively integrate into payment systems, a new stage of their development and improvement will begin.

Many, especially novice miners, are interested in the actual question - is it worth investing in BTG. It is difficult to give a definite answer. Probably, in this regard, everyone should decide on their own. And also - to analyze in detail the factors that at this stage hinder and contribute to the development of cryptocurrency. In defense of BTG they say.

1. A very well thought-out strategy. If you analyze the entire path traveled by the coin from the very beginning, the intention of the developers becomes obvious - mining using a video card.
2. Competent marketing. Yes, the team is often accused of speculation. She gives reasonable answers to all accusations, which undoubtedly increases her rating in the trust listing.

As for the obstacles, unfortunately, there are a few more of them.

1. System vulnerability. Proof of this was the 2018 attack, which pointed to inadequate protection of funds.
2. Doubtful reputation. It was undermined by the fact that management refused to compensate for the loss of users after the attack.
3. Disinterest of large investors. Major players still work with the original cryptocurrency, considering it more reliable and profitable. Well, they have every reason for this, in particular - expensive equipment that small investors can only dream of.

The forecasts are very mixed. Many are confident that there is no obvious crypto growth in the near future. According to the most optimistic forecasts, by the end of the year the rate will be set at around $ 50-60. The most pessimistic users are afraid that it will fall below $ 10.

How to be in this case? Probably the best thing is to take a wait-and-see attitude and monitor compliance with the roadmap points. You shouldnt rush to make breathtaking deposits in Bitcoin Gold, otherwise you can lose money. But you dont need to discard the coin yet.

Differences between Bitcoin Gold and Bitcoin

From a technical point of view, Gold is the same as Bitcoin. The main difference lies in the mining algorithms. When Gold was launched, the developers set a very specific goal for themselves - to make the payment system decentralized and place control over it in the hands of ordinary users, and not monopolists who are engaged in the production of mining equipment. In other words, popularize bitcoin and make it more accessible.

Of course, a full-fledged working network has not yet been launched, although almost 2 years have passed since the appearance of the coin. By the way, according to the Roadmap, this should happen in the current 2019. In addition, the developers plan to create a special tool for business clients, release a fully functional crypto wallet, and launch an application for smartphones. So far, only in plans, but it is being discussed - to use cross-chain technologies that will help exchange transactions (information about Bitcoin transactions here ) between different blockchains. At the moment, the only feature of this large and potentially interesting project is the use of a specific algorithm for mining. It was he who became the subject of controversy in the community, and also aroused genuine interest from all participants in the cryptocurrency market.