Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is due to fork from Bitcoin on block 491407 and all holders of Bitcoin can be credited an equal amount of BTG to their BTC. The new coin is being launched as a response to ASIC dominance.
Bitcoin Gold is the latest Bitcoin fork with the split occurring on Bitcoin block 491407. The coin is seen by the developers as a response to the ASIC driven monopoly of the main Bitcoin chain. As with the previous Bitcoin fork for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), as long as you are holding Bitcoin in your own software wallet when the split occurs you will automatically receive an equal amount in Bitcoin Gold (BTG).
Users with Bitcoin in hardware wallets or who have them on exchanges wishing to also receive BTG would need to check with their wallet manufacturer or exchange to find out if they plan to support Bitcoin Gold.
Bitcoin Hardware Wallets
In a recent blog post Trezor announced that although their devices support Bitcoin Gold, users won’t be able to do anything other than holding it. Users can choose to export their BTG, however, that is not a procedure they recommend. The coins will therefore not be available in the Trezor wallet.
Trezor’s main issue with BTG is that the code for it currently offers no replay protection, meaning that due to the nature of the chain split there is a potential to lose or transmit your Bitcoins rather than just your Bitcoin Gold. Their advice therefore would be to simply hold the BTG until replay protection is implemented by the BTG team.
The Trezor team states:
Yes, TREZOR (the device) supports Bitcoin Gold. As previously mentioned, at the moment of the fork, if you have bitcoins on your TREZOR, you will also receive bitcoin gold on your TREZOR (both new and legacy accounts are supported in bitcoin gold). If you simply wish to hold BTC and BTG, there is no further action required from you.
Keepkey has announced that they too will be following the same measures as TREZOR by allowing the users of their hardware wallet to receive BTG but not immediately transact it. They advise users that if they require the immediate ability to move their BTG coins then they should, “relocate their Bitcoin prior to the October 25, 2017 deadline into a wallet that has confirmed support is already in place for this new asset.”
Exchanges Weigh in on Bitcoin Gold
The Bittrex exchange tweeted that all users who have bitcoins on the exchange at the time of the fork will receive the same amount of Bitcoin Gold, however, as they have no access to the BTG wallet, they will be unable to guarantee transactions or offer a market exchange for it.
Statement about bitcoin gold support https://t.co/eVGexekllC
— Bittrex (@BittrexExchange) October 22, 2017
Coinbase released a statement today announcing that they will not be immediately crediting users’ wallets with BTG. They advise customers to leave their Bitcoins where they are and if they ultimately deem BTG to be a legitimate then they will begin enquiries into allowing their users to access it.
No customer action is required. Your existing Bitcoin funds remain safe. We will continue to monitor the development of Bitcoin Gold, and if its network proves to be both secure and valuable, Coinbase may decide to support it at a later date. At that point your account would be credited with an appropriate amount of Bitcoin Gold.
The situation with Bitcoin Gold is currently very unclear ahead of launch, with many exchanges and hardware providers confounded by a lack of actual reviewable wallet code.
Do you intend to claim your Bitcoin Gold? What questions do you have? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Keepkey, iStockPhoto
