Not All That Glitters Is Bitcoin Gold
CryptoBit News Today2 min read
Several top South Korean crypto exchanges have suspended trading in Bitcoin Gold, the controversial hard fork of the original Bitcoin blockchain. The moratorium came as new allegations of fraud emerged against the leading Bitcoin Gold mining pool and the project's founder. ## What Bitcoin Gold Is, and What it's Not
Bitcoin Gold claims to be a more accessible version of the world's first and largest cryptocurrency. Like Bitcoin, it runs on a blockchain, traces back to the original Bitcoin blockchain, and shares many features with Bitcoin. However, it is not Bitcoin itself, and shares only a portion of its history.
Bitcoin Gold's differences lie in a few technical details. It introduced a new algorithm, one that Bitcoin Gold supporters argue would make mining more equitable. The fork also aimed to re-distribute the coins to make them more accessible to the public.
Bitcoin itself is a decades-old project that has grown into the world's largest cryptocurrency, valued at tens of tens of billions of dollars. Its cryptocurrency, the bitcoin, has both value in itself and in the blockchain that supports it. Bitcoin is an important player in the global technology industry, and its technology is central to the rise of decentralized blockchain-based information technology.
By contrast, Bitcoin Gold lacked the market standing of Bitcoin. The project appeared to have a lackluster governance and resident community with the ability to make long-term decisions. Bitcoin is one of the largest open source projects by size and contributor base, and unlike Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin has undergone a rigorous peer review process from the earliest stage of development, which resulted in a system that proved incredibly stable and faultless. ## Fraud at the Foundation
Bitcoin Gold recently suspended trading on Bitfinex, Huobi and OKEx, several of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, due to unrelated to the recent fraud allegations. The exchanges reportedly found irregularities at a mining pool linked to Bitcoin Gold. They were unable to verify the pool's legitimacy, and the trading pause came as a precaution.
The fraud allegations involve one of Bitcoin Gold's founders. Several South Korean citizens recently filed civil suits against him, accusing him of coaxing their investments under false pretenses. They also allege that he played a role in running the mining pool that global exchanges are now eyeing with suspicion. One believer reported a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Bitcoin Gold supporters maintain that the fraud allegations are unfounded. While the project has faced criticism, they count its technical merits in its favor, and point out that it has been in operation for a number of years, having passed several tests in that time. ## What Comes Next for Bitcoin Gold?
Bitcoin Gold has been sidelined on top Korean exchanges for now, and the Korean authorities are investigating. But the project has survived before, and some analysts predict it could weather the storm yet again.
One thing is certain: investors have good reason to be skeptical of the project, and unlikely finds its place in future blockchain news. While Bitcoin Gold is not central to the blockchain economy, it is a small part of the ecosystem. It appears Bitcoin Gold will continue to operate in niche interchanges, but its days as a mainstream player are likely over.
