Kriptoks

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is a decentralized, open-source cryptocurrency that was created as a hard fork of Bitcoin. It aims to provide a more democratized and decentralized mining environment by changing the algorithm used to mine the cryptocurrency. The goal of Bitcoin Gold is to allow for a wider range of individuals and investors to participate in the mining process by utilizing common Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) instead of specialized equipment.

BTG was launched in October 2017 with the intention of addressing concerns about the centralization of Bitcoin mining. At the time of the fork, there were 17.5 million BTG in circulation. However, the launch of Bitcoin Gold was met with controversy due to the use of a "post-mine" of approximately 8,000 blocks, in which 100,000 coins were retroactively mined after the fork. This was done in order to support the growth and development of the Bitcoin Gold community ecosystem.

The primary feature of Bitcoin Gold is its use of the Equihash proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm, which is memory-hard and can be performed by common computer and smartphone hardware. This allows for a new class of entrepreneurs and investors to participate in mining, as it is not limited to specialized equipment. Additionally, Bitcoin Gold's consensus rules were implemented at block 491407, allowing for miners to construct a new branch of the Bitcoin blockchain. This means that if you possess Bitcoin (BTC) at the time of the fork, you will automatically receive an equivalent amount of BTG.

Bitcoin Gold can be used for a variety of applications, including smart contracts, open-source computing technology bridges, and payments. It is fungible, meaning it is identical, replaceable, and convertible, and it allows for faster transactions than Bitcoin, with a rate of up to 27 transactions per second (tps) compared to Bitcoin's 5 tps. Additionally, Bitcoin Gold provides complete transaction anonymity, shielding the wallet addresses of network senders and receivers.

In summary, Bitcoin Gold is an open-source cryptocurrency that was created as a hard fork of Bitcoin, with the goal of providing a more democratized and decentralized mining environment by changing the algorithm used to mine the cryptocurrency. It utilizes a memory-hard algorithm that can be performed by common computer and smartphone hardware, allowing for a wider range of individuals and investors to participate in the mining process. Bitcoin Gold can be used for a variety of applications and provides faster transactions and anonymity compared to Bitcoin.