Tech News, Magazine & Review WordPress Theme 2017
  • FEATURES
    • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple and XRP
    • Altcoins
    • Trading
    • NFTs
    • Blockchain
    • Futuremash
    • Regulators
    • Scams
    • Crypto 101
  • HODLX
    • Latest Stories
    • FAQ
    • Submit Your Guest Blog
  • INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
    • Latest
    • Press Releases
    • ChainWire
    • Sponsored Posts
    • Submit Your Content
  • CRYPTO MARKETS
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Binance Coin (BNB)
  • BEGINNERS
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • What Is Blockchain?
    • What Does Hodl Mean?
    • How to Pay Your Bills with Bitcoin
    • Best Bitcoin FAQs
    • Example of Bitcoin’s Purpose
    • Cryptocurrency Has Multiple Meanings
    • Authenticator Alert – Securing Your Crypto
  • SUBMIT
    • Guest Blog
    • Press release
    • Sponsored post
  • EMAIL ALERTS
  • DAILY HODL MIX
No Result
View All Result
  • FEATURES
    • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple and XRP
    • Altcoins
    • Trading
    • NFTs
    • Blockchain
    • Futuremash
    • Regulators
    • Scams
    • Crypto 101
  • HODLX
    • Latest Stories
    • FAQ
    • Submit Your Guest Blog
  • INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
    • Latest
    • Press Releases
    • ChainWire
    • Sponsored Posts
    • Submit Your Content
  • CRYPTO MARKETS
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Binance Coin (BNB)
  • BEGINNERS
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • What Is Blockchain?
    • What Does Hodl Mean?
    • How to Pay Your Bills with Bitcoin
    • Best Bitcoin FAQs
    • Example of Bitcoin’s Purpose
    • Cryptocurrency Has Multiple Meanings
    • Authenticator Alert – Securing Your Crypto
  • SUBMIT
    • Guest Blog
    • Press release
    • Sponsored post
  • EMAIL ALERTS
  • DAILY HODL MIX
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Hodl
No Result
View All Result

Bitcoin and the Forks: Should You Invest in ‘New’ Bitcoins?

by Marry Callahan
January 2, 2019
in HodlX
HodlX Guest Post  Submit Your Post
 

Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in existence. This digital asset was first released in 2009 and since then has become the centerpiece of the billion-dollar cryptocurrency industry. Despite being at the top of the crypto charts, Bitcoin is far from perfect and has long needed to undergo changes. Allowing for this, numerous development teams have come up with the idea of originating the fork to introduce a new and improved Bitcoin.

Why does Bitcoin have so many forks?

A primary reason for the emergence of new forks comes from scalability issues and limitations of the initial Bitcoin currency. Bitcoin has a block size that is fixed at 1 MB, and there can only be a set number of Bitcoins ever created and circulated. The cryptocurrency was programmed this way to allow the coins to be released into circulation in an orderly and even fashion. However, for a cryptocurrency as popular as Bitcoin, a small block size can be a heavy curse. At peak times, it results in slow transactions and higher fees.

Alternatively, forks can also happen when cryptocurrency users agree on a radical change to the protocol. Prominent members of the crypto community can propose a series of protocol upgrades that would improve the original currency. Not everyone may agree with these changes, however. Therefore, a fork is born releasing a new currency that uses the proposed changes and complies with a different protocol.

Backward-compatible upgrade, or soft fork

This type of Bitcoin fork is essentially comparable to a computer software update that is compatible with old versions. We can use the analogy of Microsoft Office. Let’s say you are using Microsoft Office 2003 but your friend has sent you a document created in Microsoft Office 2015. You will still be able to open the document in Office 2003, however, you will be prevented from using the additional features available in Office 2015.

In the same manner, a soft fork is backward-compatible with previous versions of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. However, any updates featured in the new protocol will not be available for use in previous versions.

Not backward-compatible upgrade, or hard fork

This type of Bitcoin fork has a fundamental difference from a soft fork. A hard fork is not backward compatible with previous versions of the Bitcoin currency. Once a hard fork is created, there is literally no going back – that is it. If you do not choose to take on board the new cryptocurrency, then you will not be able to use it at all. You will not be able to access any of the features or interact with the other users on the blockchain.

A suitable analogy could be the PlayStation games console. If you have a PS4, you cannot play PS3 games. Moreover, if you have a PS3, you cannot play PS4 games on it. The two are not compatible.

Which Bitcoin Forks are available on the market?

However, in practice, it is not so simple and easy, and there are forks that result in a community split and the birth of a new coin or a spinoff of Bitcoin. You might have noticed that there are multiple Bitcoins on the market. These are all Bitcoin forks, actually. So, let’s finally look at the iterations of Bitcoin available, why they emerged and where they are standing in terms of market cap.

Bitcoin – the original version

Released: 2009

Approximate Price: $4,000

Market cap: $69.5 billion

This is the original version of Bitcoin and the most circulated. Bitcoin is generally the currency that most people wish to use or invest in. It acts as a benchmark for other cryptocurrencies and is widely used by merchants and businesses. The core principle behind Bitcoin is to ensure cheap and reliable peer-to-peer transactions with no middlemen involved. Bitcoin is decentralized, borderless, and transparent.

Where to buy (top 5 exchanges): Coinbase, Bitstamp, CEX.IO, Kraken, Binance

Bitcoin – Cash

Released: 2017

Approximate Price: $155

Market cap: $2.7 billion

The most successful Bitcoin fork today is Bitcoin Cash (BCH). This cryptocurrency is undoubtedly the most popular among other forks due to its unique features and strong backing from the community. BCH was launched in response to Bitcoin’s scalability issues. It has several differences from Bitcoin such as an increased block size of 32MB, adjustable mining difficulty, and a lack of the “replace-by-fee” feature which may cause the inflated transactions fees.

Where to buy (top 5 exchanges): Coinbase, CEX.IO, Binance, Poloniex, Bitfinex

Bitcoin – Gold

Released: 2017

Approximate Price: $17

Market cap: $294 million

This fork was created to address the Bitcoin mining issue and offer better decentralization. Bitcoin mining is largely controlled by several pools, which contradicts the underlying idea of decentralization. Early on, it was possible to mine Bitcoin using a regular PC; now the process requires more power and more advanced hardware sets. Average users cannot afford it and thus have no incentive to mine Bitcoin. Bitcoin Gold uses a different algorithm for mining through which it expects to achieve true decentralization.

Where to buy (top 5 exchanges): CEX.IO, Bitfinex, Binance, KuCoin, HitBTC

Bitcoin – Diamond

Released: 2017

Approximate Price: $0.96

Market cap: $148 million

Bitcoin Diamond was another notable fork aiming to improve the speed and cost of Bitcoin transactions. What’s more, the developers of BCD decided to increase the maximum supply of the coins as well. With Bitcoin, 21 million units can ever be created; with Bitcoin Diamond, however, this number is 10 times bigger – 210 million. The changes also include increasing the block size to 8MB.

Where to buy (top 5 exchanges): Binance, Bithumb, OKEx, HitBTC, KuCoin

Bitcoin – Private

Released: 2018

Approximate Price: $1.99

Market cap: $39.9 million

As the name implies, Bitcoin Private’s purpose is to add more privacy to Bitcoin transactions. By its nature, Bitcoin is transparent, meaning that the ledger records all transactions that ever took place on the network. It is done to make the Bitcoin ledger immutable. Bitcoin Private is unique because it combines the elements of Bitcoin and ZClassic. The privacy feature of Bitcoin Private are enabled through zk-SNARK technology.

Where to buy: HitBTC

Hopefully, you are now bursting understand what Bitcoin forks are and have perhaps decided on one to invest in. However, the forks are usually met with much controversy in the community. So it would do no harm to research more about each of them before buying. Remember that a great investor should be well-informed about the market and its risks in order to make a wise investment decision.

 
Check Latest Headlines on HodlX


Follow Us on Twitter Facebook Telegram

Check out the Latest Industry Announcements
 

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.
Submit a Press Release

Industry Announcements

  • DAM Finance Closes $1.8 Million Pre-Seed Funding Led by DFG and Jsquare for Cross-Chain, Portfolio-Backed Stablecoin
    August 19, 2022
  • Kingdom Quest Launches Token IDO on Poolz
    August 18, 2022
  • W3 Storage Lab Raises $3 Million in Pre-Seed Round
    August 18, 2022
  • Massive Online PFP NFTs Meetup in the Mega World
    August 18, 2022
  • DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP) Anticipates Metaverse Platform Launch With Listings on Coinbase, Huobi and MEXC
    August 17, 2022
  • Former Navy SEAL and Author Willard Chesney Joins CBS SEAL Team Actor Justin Melnick With NFT Collection Release on the ReserveBlock RBX Network, Proceeds To Benefit the Boot Campaign
    August 16, 2022
  • Oraichain Introduces Accelerator Program for DApps Building on Its AI Layer One Ecosystem
    August 15, 2022
Submit a Guest Post
ADVERTISEMENT
Bitcoin
$21,413.74
$21,413.74
8.58%
Ethereum
$1,707.29
$1,707.29
8.99%
Cardano
$0.469902
$0.469902
11.57%
XRP
$0.342554
$0.342554
9.66%
Dogecoin
$0.070115
$0.070115
10.83%

Spotlight

  • Here’s What Could Trigger Bitcoin and Ethereum Surge to All-Time Highs, According to Crypto Veteran Bobby Lee
    August 13, 2022
  • Ex-Goldman Sachs Executive Predicts Ethereum (ETH) Explodes Through $2,000 Level As Macro Climate Shifts
    August 16, 2022
  • BlackRock, Google and Morgan Stanley Investing Billions Into Blockchain and Crypto Technology: Report
    August 18, 2022
  • Four Low-Cap Altcoins Explode Nearly 90% or More in Just One Week As Crypto Markets Ignite
    August 15, 2022
Finance Magnates London Summit Banner
DON'T MISS A BEAT
Crypto headlines delivered daily
to your inbox
BTC, ETH, XRP news alert options
By joining The Daily Hodl news list you agree to our
Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/Billion Photos

Cryptocurrency news and analysis, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, XRP, altcoins and blockchain technology

Categories

Bitcoin • Ethereum • Trading •
Ripple and XRP • Altcoins •
Blockchain • Regulators •
Scams • Crypto101 • HodlX •
Futuremash •
Industry Announcements

ABOUT US | EDITORIAL POLICY | PRIVACY POLICY
TERMS AND CONDITIONS | CONTACT

JOIN US ON TELEGRAM

JOIN US ON TWITTER

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

COPYRIGHT © 2017-2022 THE DAILY HODL

No Result
View All Result
  • FEATURES
    • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple and XRP
    • Altcoins
    • Trading
    • NFTs
    • Blockchain
    • Futuremash
    • Regulators
    • Scams
    • Crypto 101
  • HODLX
    • Latest Stories
    • FAQ
    • Submit Your Guest Blog
  • INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
    • Latest
    • Press Releases
    • ChainWire
    • Sponsored Posts
    • Submit Your Content
  • CRYPTO MARKETS
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Binance Coin (BNB)
  • BEGINNERS
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • What Is Blockchain?
    • What Does Hodl Mean?
    • How to Pay Your Bills with Bitcoin
    • Best Bitcoin FAQs
    • Example of Bitcoin’s Purpose
    • Cryptocurrency Has Multiple Meanings
    • Authenticator Alert – Securing Your Crypto
  • SUBMIT
    • Guest Blog
    • Press release
    • Sponsored post
  • EMAIL ALERTS
  • DAILY HODL MIX

© 2022 The Daily Hodl