On October 24, 2022, the Bitcoin blockchain was split to create a new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin Gold (BTG). Existing private keys with a Bitcoin balance at that time will receive the same amount of Bitcoin Gold. The official wallet will appear on November 1, similar to Bitcoin Cash in early August.
At the moment, the wallet for Bitcoin Gold is not yet available and its balance is displayed only on exchanges that supported the Bitcoin Gold hard fork, if your bitcoins were in the exchange account at the time of the network snapshot on October 24. Read below on how to get BTG using a private key from BTC.
The main feature of Bitcoin Gold for miners is that BTG is mined only with video cards (GPUs), using the Equihash algorithm (similar to Zcash).
As can be seen from the table, among Bitcoin and its forks, only Bitcoin Gold can be mined using video cards, which will certainly find support among a huge number of miners around the world. The new fork will change the Proof-of-Work algorithm from SHA256 to Equihash, which will be ASIC-resistant and optimized specifically for GPU mining.
General information about Bitcoin Gold
- The Bitcoin Gold project, introduced back in July, was the brainchild of Jack Liao, the founder of Lightning ASIC, a mining farm company based in Hong Kong, and an anonymous developer called “h4x3.”
- The main idea of the planned plan is to improve the original protocol, by moving from the usual mining algorithm to Bitcoin mining using high-speed GPU graphics processors.
- According to team representatives, the new BTG will not be based on the original SHA256 algorithm, but on Equihash. This protocol is also used in the mining of the alternative cryptocurrency Zcash.
- Owners of mining farms will have access to choosing the block size they want to mine. The default will remain 1 MB.
The driving force behind Bitcoin Gold is a team of developers, miners and other participants led by Jack Liao, CEO of Hong Kong-based mining hardware manufacturer LightningAsic. His financial partner in this matter is known simply as Wubi, a Chinese mining tycoon and owner of Chinese cryptocurrency news portal Jinse.com. The anonymous lead developer of the project goes by the name H4x3rotab.
We have already published an interview with the lead developer of Bitcoin Gold, in which he reveals details about many technical aspects and ideology of Bitcoin Gold.
What is the value of a new Bitcoin fork that makes it necessary?
Dubbed a “friendly fork” by its developers, this version of Bitcoin has many differences that make it less like Bitcoin Cash and more like a free app to Bitcoin. H4x3rotab explained that there are “hidden interests” that benefit from blocking upcoming Bitcoin updates by doing various hard forks such as C-cash, D-cash or SegWit4x and SegWit8x.”
His team's plan to combat this negative phenomenon is for Bitcoin Gold to take a similar, supportive role to Bitcoin, just as Litecoin did to the SegWit update. However, unlike Litecoin, which has a shorter block time and uses a mining algorithm that is different but still allows the use of ASICs, H4x3rotab says that:
“Bitcoin Gold could also be a real blockchain for checking Bitcoin updates.”
The project's creator and main financial backer says Bitcoin Gold's goal is to compete with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and other GPU-mined cryptocurrencies, increase the decentralization of mining and protect the Bitcoin ecosystem. “We will use SegWit and try to follow the Core team as closely as possible,” says Liao. “Because, unlike Bitcoin Cash, we know that the best engineers in the industry are working on Core, so this is by far the best technical plan to take Bitcoin Gold safely into the future.”
Bitcoin Gold Technical Details
The biggest change to the code that helps it complement Bitcoin is the use of a different mining algorithm called Equihash, which is ASIC resistant.
The ZCash cryptocurrency uses the same mining algorithm, and just like Ethereum, these coins require the use of GPUs for mining instead of the current ASIC-based miners for Bitcoin.
ASIC miners are regarded by the Bitcoin development team and their supporters as the main source of many of Bitcoin's current problems, resulting in Bitcoin being centralized in the hands of a small number of miners.
Another advantage for the project is that it uses the Equihash algorithm instead of SHA-256 like Bitcoin. Thus, Bitcoin Gold will compete with Ethereum in terms of mining, despite the fact that its structure is closer to ZCash. This is notable because the Ethereum project plans to switch its proof-of-work mining algorithm to a new proof-of-stake mining algorithm around 2022. Currently, a large percentage of the world's graphics cards are used to mine Ethereum, so the Bitcoin Gold team has designed their coin to become the main recipient of this power in the future.
Bitcoin Gold has also changed its difficulty setting algorithm. Every two weeks, Bitcoin Gold adjusts a “noise” parameter that makes it easier or harder for miners to solve a block and receive a reward. This ensures that as mining power increases, blocks will continue to be mined at an average rate of one block every ten minutes. This long adjustment period worked well enough before the Bitcoin Cash hard fork in August, but now, the hashing power available to Bitcoin fluctuates too frequently, and two weeks has become too much for the Bitcoin Gold team. Instead, their blockchain will measure and adjust the difficulty level setting with each block it finds.
Which wallets and exchanges will allow you to get Bitcoin Gold?
Bitcoin (BTC) owners will need private keys to their wallets to receive Bitcoin Gold coins.
For this specific purpose, it is best to use a Bitcoin wallet that allows you to access your private keys directly. Some wallets make this easier than others. But technically, any wallet that allows you to manage your private keys should be fine.
If you only store your coins on an exchange, you will need to create your own wallet. Which wallet to use is up to you. However, it has already become known that the cryptocurrency exchanges Bittrex and YObit will release Bitcoin Gold to all Bitcoin (BTC) owners.
Where can I get private keys from Bitcoin wallets for charging a fork?
The process is similar for most wallets, so we’ll look at it briefly for the most popular ones - EXODUS, Jaxx and Electrum.
EXODUS
In the EXODUS wallet, in order to gain access to private keys, you must first call the main menu, this is done by pressing the key combination Ctrl+Shift+D , in the menu select: Exodus > Developer > Acets > Bitcoin > Export Private keys
The program will tell us that the private key is saved on the desktop:
Open the created file using a regular text editor. There will be 2 codes: a short code - your wallet address, a long code - your private key.
Jaxx
Here the necessary menu is immediately available; to obtain private keys, simply follow the path:
Menu -> Tools -> Display Private Keys
Please note Jaxx automatically changes wallet addresses after transactions and thus each wallet will have a separate private and public key, all of them displayed on one page.
Electrum
Private keys in the Electrum wallet are available in the tab:
Wallet -> Private Keys -> Export
Crypto wallets for storage
While Bitcoin Gold currently doesn't offer as many wallet options as digital gold Bitcoin, users have a variety of ways to store the asset.
Core Wallet
One of the most common types of wallet, BTG Core Wallet, belongs to the class of software “cold” wallets.
Their characteristic features are a high level of safety, reliable operation and serious system requirements.
For Core Wallet to fully function, you will need to download the entire BTG blockchain to your PC or laptop hard drive.
How to create a new wallet:
- Go to the official website of the application at bitcoingold.org/downloads.
- Select the version of the installation file for your operating system and download it to your computer. The following operating systems are supported: Windows, Linux, Mac OS.
- Install the application on the local disk of the PC. You need to make sure in advance that you have enough hard drive space to download the BTG blockchain. You will need to allocate at least 150 GB.
- After launching the program, a new wallet and private key will be created. The key must be stored in a safe place, preferably on an offline device that does not have access to the network.
- Then all the blockchain information is downloaded and synchronized.
- For normal operation, the Core Wallet application must be allowed to access the Internet.
This completes the main process of creating Wallet . The user gets the opportunity to store their funds and make transactions.
This video will show you how to create a wallet for Bitcoin Gold:
Exodus
The new version of the famous multi-currency wallet Exodus supports Bitcoin Gold. Exodus is a software-based “hot” wallet.
They are convenient, simple, but with a lower level of reliability, since they do not require downloading the entire blockchain.
To create Exodus Wallet, you need:
Select and receive a profitable loan
- Download the version of the wallet for your operating system from the official website exodus.io.
- Install the application on your computer.
- Then you need to create a new wallet - you will need an email address, you need to come up with a strong password.
- To restore access to the e-wallet, users will be provided with a seed key - a 12-word phrase that must be saved in a safe place.
Hardware
Common hardware wallets Ledger and Trezor can be used to store Bitcoin Gold.
They provide maximum reliability.
All information is stored on a separate device.
The devices are equipped with displays for accessing the wallet and managing transactions.
A significant drawback is the high cost of the devices.
Coinomi
One of the first wallets to support BTG.
This is an application that is installed on your mobile device, turning it into a digital wallet. There is a version for both iOS and Android.
To create a crypto wallet:
- download the application via PlayMarket or App Store;
- install the program on a mobile device;
- launch Coinomi and select “Create”;
- the application will generate a mnemonic phrase to restore the wallet in unexpected cases;
- you will need to protect access to the application with a password;
- you need to select Bitcoin Gold as one of the currencies;
- This completes the creation of Coinomi wallet.
Important information for those who decide to purchase cryptocurrency! Our experts will share tips on how to create and properly use a Bitcoin wallet. Also find out about the following features of this crypto wallet:
- installing a wallet on mobile devices;
- replenishment of a Bitcoin wallet, including from a bank card or through YuMoney and Qiwi;
- making money on Bitcoin faucets.
BTG price movement in the near future
Presumably, at the time of launch, on the wave of interest, the price of Bitcoin Gold will be at $500. Gradually, as the excitement around the crypto newcomer subsides, its exchange rate will begin to decrease somewhat. And then the credit of trust will end, and at the beginning of 2022 Bitcoin Gold will begin to be judged on its real merits. How convenient and secure will this currency be, will it be in demand, will it take its rightful place on cryptocurrency exchanges.
It is worth noting that the project was done in a hurry. The first mention took place in the middle of summer and we had not yet had time to really test the new network. It is possible that bugs or critical vulnerabilities will appear along the way (remember Ethereum Classic, which greatly enriched hackers at the start of the coin).
List of exchanges that have already officially supported BTG trading
- HitBTC*;
- Binance*;
- YoBit*;
- Bleutrade*;
- BitStar*;
- Coinnest*;
- Bitfinex*;
- Gate.io*;
- BitBay;
- BitFlyer;
- Beatcoin;
- Change Now;
- Paribu;
- Abucoins.
* futures trading is available on these exchanges.
List of exchanges that support BTG trading
When considering exchanges that support Bitcoin Gold and choosing the best options, it is worth noting the following resources:
- Bithumb;
- Exrates;
- Bitfinex;
- Upbit;
- Binance.
It is indicated on which exchanges Bitcoin Gold can be sold and bought, and on the official website of the project. The list includes more than 20 items. It is expected that there will be more exchanges supporting the Bitcoin Gold cryptocurrency by the end of the year. Much depends on the popularity of the coin and changes in its exchange rate.
Mining Bitcoin Gold
Pools and miners are already available (list below).
Mining programs for Bitcoin Gold mining:
- EWBF v0.3.4+ (NVIDIA)
- ClaymoreZcash v12.5+ (AMD)
- OptiminerZcash v1.7.0+ (AMD)
Pools from the batch file settings:
- Pool address: https://pool.gold/
- Body file #1: miner —server rus.pool.gold —port 3044 —user Gey5kMiscYWZcQ8zuKfxZcKvikZtsqrw5Z.worker —pass x
- Body file #2: miner —server eu.pool.gold —port 3044 —user Gey5kMiscYWZcQ8zuKfxZcKvikZtsqrw5Z.worker —pass x
or:
- Pool address: https://btg.suprnova.cc
- Body file: miner —server btg.suprnova.cc —user moscow630.ska1 —pass x —port 8816
List of other available pools:
- Minergate
- MinerTopia
- Mining.SG
- Nibiru Pool
- 4miner
- BTG Mine
- Server Power
- Miningspeed
- Happy2Mine
- BTGPool Pro
- Miningpools.cloud
- GPU Gold
- Mine Flow
- Cloudhash
- Lucky Mining
To mine Bitcoin Gold, the PoW (Proof of Work) algorithm used for mining Bitcoin (BTC) will be changed to Equihash, so mining BTG on special ASIC devices will no longer be possible. This has received great support from GPU miners, which will also have a positive impact on the popularity of Bitcoin Gold.
The number of BTG coins will be the same as BTC - 21 million. The time for 1 block is also similar - 10 minutes.
The Equihash algorithm allows ordinary computers to participate in mining due to the fact that it does not allow the workload to be split into smaller work packages. As a result, more efficient mining can be achieved on standard computers and makes the production of ASIC miners for this algorithm unprofitable.
BTG Mining Instructions
For those who have never encountered mining using the Equihash algorithm, here is a description of the mining process from Zcash, which is naturally suitable for Bitcoin Gold.
What you need to mine Equihash:
- Any PC with Windows 7 and above.
- Minimum 4 GB RAM.
- Video cards with ANY amount of video memory (better, of course, than the latest generations).
- Install fresh drivers.
- HDD or SSD does not matter - we only need the media for the OS to work.
- The processor is not actually involved.
The number of video cards connected to 1 PC is limited by the capabilities of the motherboard, the number of PCI-e connectors (it doesn’t matter x1 or x16) and the power of the power supply.
Next, you will need the equihash (Bitcoin Gold) mining program itself. After you have downloaded the folder with the files (or all the files separately and putting them in one folder), all we have to do is start the miner by double-clicking on the file: start.bat.
After you start the miner, this miner is good because it will automatically determine which card you have installed and select the optimal characteristics for mining; you don’t need to configure anything. The only thing it can’t do is overclock video cards, but instructions for proper overclocking are here. This is an example of a running miner:
As you wait for the miner to start mining cryptocurrency (BTG), you will see lines like these, and information lines will appear at different intervals. They display the temperature and rotation speed of each card, as well as the speed indicators of the video card’s power on a specific coin.
Of course, a version of the program adapted specifically for Bitcoin Gold mining has not yet been released, but as soon as it appears, we will definitely post a link to it and make a separate review.
Pools for mining Bitcoin Gold
Mining of a new fork will be available on these pools immediately after the network launches:
- MinerTopia;
- Miningspeed;
- Pool.gold;
- Minergate;
- Server Power;
- Mining.SG;
- Nibiru Pool;
- BTG Mine;
- 4miner.
