Bitcoin is the most popular and valuable cryptocurrency. However, it also comes with some alternative tokens, and there are speculations that the future currency is bitcoin which has gained popularity over the past few years. One such token is Bitcoin Gold (BTG). Bitcoin Gold (BTG) can be described as a hard fork from Bitcoin created in 2017.
A hard fork is when a data block splits into two due to a significant protocol modification. It implies that a particular token can’t exist on the prior blockchain because it is not compatible with blocks from the past. Therefore, it requires its distinct blockchain. So, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Gold each have their blockchains. Hard forks, however, are not random events. They result from the manual design of a brand new chain to the specific token.
What Is Bitcoin Gold (BTG) And Its Purpose
The primary goal behind Bitcoin Gold had been to decentralize Bitcoin. The consensus mechanism, known as proof of work, was favored by only a few miners, which meant that regular people and novices didn’t have much chance to get involved in the mining process. In this way, the system was getting a bit centralized and biassed.
Additionally, expensive hardware is required to process Bitcoin. Bitcoin mining hardware is an ASIC (Application-Specific Integration Circuits) miner and can cost thousands of dollars. Bitcoin mining was an exclusive endeavor that you could only be involved in if you had plenty of money to spare.
Bitcoin Gold ( BTG) Vs. Bitcoin ( BTC)
One of the most significant differences between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Gold is the mechanisms for consensus that they use. Bitcoin utilizes the first proof of work system and has been used since 2009, which involves solving mathematically complex issues through mining to keep the blockchain secure from threats.
Bitcoin Gold, on its own, employs its Equihash Proof of Work mechanism. This mechanism makes it more challenging to create evidence than to validate one. Due to this, it’s extremely difficult to design custom hardware that can mine, which leads to the reality that ASIC miners cannot mine BTG blockchain.
Because Bitcoin Gold was created to fight the issue of unfair mining and as a result of this, there are not a significant number of other differences between these two coins. However, Bitcoin Gold does have a smaller block size than Bitcoin, which usually results in faster transaction speeds. However, the faster speeds are accompanied by higher fees and an imbalance that could be difficult to achieve. There is a second major issue with this type of crypto.
However, Bitcoin Gold does not come without imperfections. Since it is smaller in size and uses an alternative PoW mechanism, It is more vulnerable to attacks of 51. An attack of 51% involves an individual (or group of criminals) who controls more than 50% of the computational power of a network. It is usually accomplished by leasing hash power from an outside party to manage the network.
Although the Bitcoin mining industry is filled with highly experienced mining professionals, Bitcoin Gold provides an opportunity to those looking to start mining without paying the expense of significant upfront investment or a wealth of information. Bitcoin Gold also has a good position in the market and can have the potential to be a successful future investment being one of Bitcoin’s many variants of hard forks.
However, this isn’t stopping Bitcoin Gold from developing into a wildly popular cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency is currently worth approximately $30 and has more than half a billion dollars. It’s possible to say that it’s unlikely the coin will disappear anytime very soon.
Final Words
Bitcoin Gold was designed so that it couldn’t be mined using ASICs. Instead, it can be mined with GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) and thus allowing mining opportunities to ordinary people. Although GPUs aren’t cheap, they are more affordable than ASIC miners in most cases. While it is technically possible to mine Bitcoin with a GPU, it’s almost impossible to do so today, but that’s not the case for Bitcoin Gold.
