What is Bitcoin Gold (BTG) How it Works & Where To Buy It?

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) was a hard fork of the original Bitcoin code. Bitcoin Gold aims to ”make Bitcoin decentralized again”. The Bitcoin Gold hard fork has been among the most discussed forks to date.

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) was created in 2017 and has quickly grown to become the 97th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

How Bitcoin Gold (BTG) Works

Bitcoin mining has always been a resource-intensive process that requires an immense amount of computational power. The most common way to mine Bitcoin is by joining mining pools that have individuals who combine their mining rigs to achieve the most profitable returns.

This is especially relevant because Bitcoin Gold aimed to change the way that mining rigs mined crypto – more elaborate mining rigs wouldn’t have an unfair advantage over standard computer systems. This system aims to provide individuals with a completely fair and transparent process, where all individuals and all network participants can benefit equally.

The developers of the Bitcoin Gold network prioritized security and transparency issues. One of the most notable changes that were implemented was the introduction of anonymous transactions – users’ transaction details and their addresses were to remain anonymous and hidden from the public.

In essence, this would create a more ”decentralized Bitcoin” and would go on to fulfill the true aims of the Bitcoin protocol – absolute decentralization. However, one of the most threatening situations that the Bitcoin Gold blockchain (and the Bitcoin blockchain) faces is an attack where hackers gain control of 51% of the protocol’s computing power.

The Bitcoin Gold protocol claims to have implemented a variety of safety security measures, including ”replay protection”. These measures have been put in place to ensure customers’ security, but to date, the protocol has already suffered major exploits and various Bitcoin Gold wallet thefts.

The most recent attack on the Bitcoin gold blockchain took place in January 2020. Attackers were able to make off with more than $19,000 worth of BTG tokens. Following this, the second attack took place, where $53,000 worth of BTG tokens was stolen.

In 2018 the biggest BTG attack took place where more than 18 million dollars worth of BTG tokens were stolen. Sequentially, Bittrex went on to delist the BTG token, citing security concerns.

What makes mining Bitcoin Gold profitable is the fairness of the mining process – users with professional rigs aren’t able to mine more than users that use standard computers. Bitcoin Gold’s developers recognized these issues in the Bitcoin fundamentals – for many individuals, these processes are what make Bitcoin Gold work in favor of people.

Individuals seeking to learn more about the Bitcoin Gold protocol can refer to the Bitcoin Gold whitepaper.

What Is Bitcoin Gold (BTG) Used For?

Multiple individuals and institutions are using Bitcoin Gold because it is seen as a more secure and decentralized blockchain. The blockchain protocol has enhanced functionality, including higher transactional output, faster transactions, a fair mining process, and an arguably ”more scalable blockchain”.

Additionally, many swing and arbitrage traders try to capitalize on price fluctuations. The majority of price fluctuations occur when trading volumes are high, this leads to intervals where cryptocurrencies experience price movements that often exceed more than 20% in 24 hours.

Where To Buy Bitcoin Gold (BTG)

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is the 97th largest cryptocurrency in the world by market cap.

BTG tokens are commonly available and frequently traded on most centralized crypto exchanges. However, before you’re able to purchase BTG, you’ll need to deposit fiat money onto an exchange, and sequentially BTG tokens will be credited to your BTG digital wallet on the exchange.

The crypto exchanges below are the safest place where you can buy, sell and store BTG tokens.

Five of the most popular crypto exchanges are:

1. Binance
2. Coinbase
3. KuCoin
4. HTX
5. Crypto.com

All of the above exchanges allow users to buy, sell, transfer and store BTG tokens in a digital wallet on the exchange. In addition, you can use your debit or credit card to purchase BTG tokens on centralized exchanges.

If you intend on transferring your BTG tokens to a digital wallet or hardware wallet – you can choose to send them to a wallet such as Trezor.

How long has Bitcoin Gold (BTG) existed?

Bitcoin Gold was created in 2017 and is a hard fork of the Bitcoin code. It was created by Jack Liao, CEO of LightingAsic and BitExchange, who went on to change the mining algorithm to Equihash – making the mining process fairer for all.

What’s controversial about Bitcoin Gold (BTG)?

Whenever researching any cryptocurrency or blockchain project, it is crucial to do as much research as possible before investing. Many retail investors enter a trade or invest in various cryptocurrencies without doing diligent research.

Many individuals invest purely because they’ve heard in the media or news that the project is good or because they know someone or have a close friend who made a profit investing in a particular cryptocurrency.

Let’s take a look at the top two controversies surrounding Bitcoin Gold (BTG)

• Major Attacks – The Bitcoin gold protocol has seen its fair share of exploits and attacks. In multiple cases, these attacks have led to significant losses, most notably in 2018, when 18 million dollars worth of BTG tokens were stolen. This has led to the majority of individuals being skeptical about investing in the Bitcoin Gold protocol and not trusting its ”secure and transparent” claims.
• Coinbase Declining To List – In 2017, multiple cryptocurrency exchanges were skeptical about listing the Bitcoin Gold cryptocurrency. Though many of those exchanges ended up listing BTG, Coinbase, decided that it would not be listing the Bitcoin Gold token. The Coinbase Exchange cited notable security concerns and went on to mention that the developers were unable to provide proof of the code, which posed a significant threat to both the exchange and its users.

How many Bitcoin Gold (BTG) tokens are there?

At the time of writing, BTG has a circulating supply of 17,513,923.59 BTG (83% of the total supply).

The total supply of BTG is 17,513,924.

The max supply of Bitcoin Gold is 21,000,000.

Can Bitcoin Gold (BTG) be mined?

Bitcoin Gold is a mineable cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin Gold price is significantly lower than Bitcoin, but mining BTG is equally difficult for all miners, regardless of their mining rigs. Bitcoin Gold sought to address these mining issues and provide users with a fair mining process.

What is the market cap of Bitcoin Gold (BTG)?

The market cap of Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is:

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) market cap = total amount of coins in circulation x current market price of BTG

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) Market Cap = 17,513,923.59 BTG x $17.28 = $302 million (97th largest market cap)

The market cap fluctuates according to circulating supply and market price.

Biggest Competitors Of Bitcoin Gold (BTG)

Bitcoin Gold is competing with most other cryptocurrencies that provide users with similar solutions. The protocol is also competing with Bitcoin and all Bitcoin forks.

Some of Bitcoin Gold’s competitors are:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Bitcoin Satoshi Version
• Litecoin
• Cardano
• Solana
• Avalanche
• Polkadot
• Ethereum

What are the Future Plans for Bitcoin Gold (BTG)?

Bitcoin Gold is focusing on improving the utility of the BTG token and enhancing the functionality of the entire protocol. The biggest focus has been to prevent more attacks on the protocol, which would lead to further losses and more people losing faith in the project.

Pros and Cons of Bitcoin Gold (BTG)

Pros:

• Enhanced Functionality – Bitcoin Gold has enhanced smart contract functionality, which allows the protocol to accommodate decentralized applications, and allows users to take advantage of various DeFi products, including staking, forming, and liquidity provision.
• Anonymous Transactions – The Bitcoin Gold Network differs from Bitcoin Network in various ways but one of the most notable differences is that users can perform transactions anonymously on the Bitcoin Gold Network.
• Decentralized – The protocol is considered to be more decentralized than many other blockchains. Many individuals believe it is more decentralized because it can incorporate multiple decentralized products and provides individuals with a fairer blockchain experience when compared to other protocols.
• Fair Mining Process – The mining process of the Bitcoin Gold protocol is deemed to be a lot fairer than the original Bitcoin protocol. Uses with professional ranks are unable to mine BTG tokens than users that make use of standard computers to mine Bitcoin Gold tokens.

Cons:

• Multiple Attacks – One of the most fundamental issues in the Bitcoin Gold protocol is the amount the protocol has suffered. Multiple attacks have led to millions of dollars of losses for BTG token holders. These attacks have led to many individuals abandoning the Bitcoin gold protocol and seeking more credible, secure, and profitable blockchain protocols.These attacks have also had serious effects on the Bitcoin Gold listings; many exchanges have gone on to delist the BTG token citing multiple security concerns. Although the Bitcoin Gold protocol claims to be making Bitcoin decentralized, these attacks have resulted in many individuals being hesitant to invest in the protocol.

  Major mining operations have stopped mining BTG tokens and are focusing on other cryptocurrencies because they no longer support the Bitcoin Gold protocol.