Bitcoin Gold (BTG)

Mining Accessibility and Decentralization

Bitcoin Gold was created to make mining more accessible and fair by allowing mining with common graphics cards (GPUs) instead of specialized ASIC hardware. This helps more people, including smaller investors and individual miners, to participate in mining, promoting a decentralized and democratic network.

Payments and Decentralized Applications

Bitcoin Gold can be used for payments and supports decentralized applications (DApps), although it has fewer use cases and less adoption compared to Bitcoin.

Experimentation and Network Development

Bitcoin Gold serves as an experimental platform to explore solutions for enabling retail investors to participate in mining and to address concerns about mining centralization in the Bitcoin network.

Trading and Wallet Use

Bitcoin Gold can be traded on various crypto exchanges and stored in different types of wallets, which also allow users to make payments, send money, and convert BTG to other currencies.

In summary, Bitcoin Gold's main use cases focus on democratizing mining, enabling payments, supporting decentralized applications, and providing an accessible platform for smaller miners and investors.

Pros of Bitcoin Gold

• Uses the Equihash algorithm, which is ASIC-resistant, allowing anyone with a GPU to mine BTG. This promotes a more decentralized mining ecosystem compared to Bitcoin's ASIC-dominated mining.
• Encourages greater decentralization by enabling more miners to participate, aligning with the original vision of "One CPU, one vote."
• Easier to mine than Bitcoin, making it accessible to smaller investors and miners.
• Has been listed on most cryptocurrency exchanges and has shown potential in the crypto market.
• Maintains the same total supply limit as Bitcoin (21 million coins).

Cons of Bitcoin Gold

• The project faced delays in releasing its source code, leading to allegations of lack of transparency.
• Experienced a volatile market entry, with its price dropping over 60% shortly after launch.
• Smaller market cap and fewer use cases compared to Bitcoin.
• Specialized hardware is still required for mining, which can be costly and not easily accessible to everyone.
• Profitability of mining can be affected by electricity costs and mining difficulty.
• Some controversy and allegations of pre-mining have affected its reputation.

Bitcoin Gold aims to improve Bitcoin's decentralization by changing the mining process, but it faces challenges in market acceptance and transparency.

Founders of Bitcoin Gold

Bitcoin Gold was founded by a team of five co-founders:

• Jack Liao: The visionary founder who started incubating Bitcoin Gold in 2015 and officially launched it in 2017. He is a Bitcoin miner and CEO of LightningAsic, a company involved in crypto hardware innovation.
• Franco Niebles: Co-founder and designer of Bitcoin Gold.
• Martin Kuvandzhiev: Co-founder and developer, with a background in software engineering and experience in mining Ethereum and working with NASA.
• Hang Yin: Co-founder who left a career at Google to focus on Bitcoin Gold and other crypto projects.
• Robert Kuhne and Alejandro Regojo: Also recognized as co-founders involved in the project.

The team aimed to create a decentralized, ASIC-resistant version of Bitcoin to allow mining with common GPUs, promoting wider participation in mining.

Institutional and Enterprise Investors

Bitcoin Gold has attracted attention from institutional and enterprise investors, carving a niche in the financial sphere. Its market capitalization in the billions and availability on many exchanges make it accessible to a broad range of investors.

Founders and Development Team

The project was founded by enthusiasts with diverse backgrounds, including Hang Yin, a computer science graduate and lead developer, and Martin Kuvandzhiev, a software engineer and board member. Their professional experience supports the project's development and growth.

Market Accessibility

Bitcoin Gold is listed on numerous exchanges and supported by various wallets and swap services, which helps attract investors by providing easy access and liquidity.

Investment Products

There are investment products like the 21shares Bitcoin Gold ETP (BOLD) and Bitwise Diaman Bitcoin & Gold ETP (BTCG) that combine Bitcoin Gold exposure with gold, appealing to investors seeking balanced risk and diversification.

No specific names of individual investors or investment firms are publicly detailed in the available information.

Halal Status of Bitcoin Gold

Bitcoin Gold is a decentralized digital currency created as a fork of Bitcoin, aiming to make mining more accessible and democratic. It operates on its own blockchain with ongoing updates and security measures.

Reasoning

• Bitcoin Gold shares many characteristics with Bitcoin, which is often referred to as "digital gold" and considered halal by many scholars when used as a long-term store of value or digital asset.
• The project maintains transparency and security, which aligns with principles of fairness and transparency valued in Islamic finance.
• While there is no explicit fatwa on Bitcoin Gold, its similarity to Bitcoin and emphasis on decentralization and transparency suggest it can be considered halal as a digital asset.

Answer: Yes, Bitcoin Gold is generally considered halal as a digital asset similar to Bitcoin, based on its decentralized nature, transparency, and use as a store of value.