Since its birth, the bitcoin ecosystem has seen numerous debates on the right protocol changes required to continue its success. A couple of months ago, we were all witness to one of the first hard forks, which created an entirely separate digital currency known as Bitcoin Cash (BCC), following a new protocol.
This has happened yet again, as on October 25th 2017, Bitcoin Gold seceded from the bitcoin blockchain, into a new digital currency. The main difference about it is its new proof-of-work algorithm.
With this in mind, the main purpose of bitcoin gold is to reportedly make mining centralized again. Currently, mining bitcoin requires people to invest into ASIC chips which are often expensive, rather than having to rely on GPU mining. In the vision of the Bitcoin Gold creators, this aspect made bitcoin mining centralized, as only powerful companies were able to invest the necessary sums into making mining profitable. Therefore, Bitcoin Gold has changed the proof-of-work algorithm from SHA256 to Equihash. This way, the new digital currency makes it easier for individuals to get involved in bitcoin mining, using their graphic processing units alone.
The distribution method associated with Bitcoin Gold is the same as that of Bitcoin Cash. Therefore, bitcoin holders holding private keys can simply log into their address and find an equal amount of Bitcoin Gold, as per their original Bitcoin amount.
A high percentage of the community tends to disagree as Bitcoin Gold reportedly has a couple of disadvantages as well. Not to mention that it is a new digital currency, and doesn’t have the value, nor the history that Bitcoin Classic does.
Following the release of Bitcoin Gold and the afferent website, a massive DDoS attack took place. Therefore, a network of hijacked computers actively sent requests to the website, hence shutting it down. A couple of hours after the attack started, the Bitcoin Gold community tweeted that the attack has been handled. At the time of writing, the site is quite slow, yet it is accessible.
While the road ahead for Bitcoin Gold looks shaky, the coin itself and the code meant to allow individuals to mine it will be released on the 1st of November. Currently, the new coin is trading at around $100 per each unit.
Following its appearance, the bitcoin price slid, thus losing around $300 in value, and going below the $6,000 mark that it achieved earlier this week.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what are your thoughts on Bitcoin Gold? Let us know in the comment section below.