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What Is Bitcoin Gold?

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is a hard fork of Bitcoin that occurred on October 24, 2017, at block height 491,407. The primary goal of Bitcoin Gold was to change Bitcoin's mining algorithm from SHA-256 to Equihash (later updated to Equihash-BTG, also known as Zhash) in order to make mining accessible to ordinary users with consumer-grade GPU hardware rather than requiring expensive, specialized ASIC mining equipment. The project was led by Jack Liao and a team of developers who believed that ASIC mining had led to excessive centralization of Bitcoin's hash power.

As a fork of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold inherited the entire Bitcoin transaction history up to the fork block. This meant that anyone who held Bitcoin at the time of the fork received an equal amount of BTG. Bitcoin Gold maintains the same 21 million coin maximum supply and follows a similar halving schedule to Bitcoin, but with its ASIC-resistant mining algorithm designed to keep the mining process democratic and decentralized.

Bitcoin Gold experienced a significant 51% attack in May 2018 that resulted in double-spend attacks on exchanges. In response, the project upgraded its mining algorithm from standard Equihash to Equihash-BTG (Zhash) to differentiate it from other Equihash coins and make such attacks more difficult. An additional 51% attack occurred in January 2020, further prompting security improvements.

Despite these challenges, Bitcoin Gold continues to operate as a Proof of Work cryptocurrency that emphasizes GPU mining accessibility. The project maintains its own development team and community, with the core belief that mining decentralization is essential for the security and fairness of a cryptocurrency network. Bitcoin Gold is functionally similar to Bitcoin in most other respects, including support for SegWit and a similar scripting system.

Getting Started With Bitcoin Gold

  1. Step 1: Learn About Bitcoin Gold. Visit bitcoingold.org to understand the project's mission of ASIC-resistant mining, its history as a Bitcoin fork, and the Equihash-BTG mining algorithm.
  2. Step 2: Set Up a Wallet. Download a Bitcoin Gold-compatible wallet such as the official Bitcoin Gold Core wallet or a supported third-party wallet. BTG addresses start with a "G" prefix to distinguish them from Bitcoin addresses.
  3. Step 3: Acquire BTG. Purchase BTG on a supported exchange or mine it using a GPU. Transfer to your personal wallet for security and full control of your funds.
  4. Step 4: Use or Mine BTG. Use BTG for payments where accepted, or set up GPU mining to earn BTG by contributing hash power to the network using the Equihash-BTG algorithm.

How to Get a Bitcoin Gold Wallet?

Bitcoin Gold Core Wallet

The official Bitcoin Gold Core wallet is a full-node wallet available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It downloads and verifies the entire BTG blockchain, providing maximum security and network participation.

Exodus Wallet

Exodus is a multi-currency desktop and mobile wallet that supports BTG alongside many other cryptocurrencies. It provides a user-friendly interface without requiring a full node download.

Ledger Hardware Wallet

BTG is supported on Ledger hardware wallets through the Bitcoin Gold app, providing cold storage security for your holdings. This is the recommended option for securing significant amounts of BTG.

Bitcoin Gold Resources

How to Buy Bitcoin Gold?

BTG is available on centralized exchanges including Binance, Bitfinex, and HitBTC. Create an account, complete verification, deposit funds, and trade for BTG. Withdraw to your personal wallet after purchasing.

BTG can also be obtained through GPU mining using the Equihash-BTG algorithm. Mining pools for Bitcoin Gold are available and provide a more consistent income compared to solo mining.

Latest Bitcoin Gold News

Bitcoin Gold continues to maintain its network and develop its ASIC-resistant cryptocurrency. The project has implemented various security upgrades since the 51% attacks of 2018 and 2020, and continues to serve its niche as a GPU-minable Bitcoin fork. The development team and community maintain the network's infrastructure, ensuring that GPU miners have a viable Proof of Work cryptocurrency to participate in.