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What Is Bitcoin Gold?

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is a hard fork of Bitcoin that occurred on October 24, 2017, at block height 491,407. The primary goal of Bitcoin Gold was to change Bitcoin's mining algorithm from SHA-256 to Equihash (later updated to Equihash-BTG, also known as Zhash) in order to make mining accessible to ordinary users with consumer-grade GPU hardware rather than requiring expensive, specialized ASIC mining equipment. The project was led by Jack Liao and a team of developers who believed that ASIC mining had led to excessive centralization of Bitcoin's hash power.

As a fork of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold inherited the entire Bitcoin transaction history up to the fork block. This meant that anyone who held Bitcoin at the time of the fork received an equal amount of BTG. Bitcoin Gold maintains the same 21 million coin maximum supply and follows a similar halving schedule to Bitcoin, but with its ASIC-resistant mining algorithm designed to keep the mining process democratic and decentralized.

Bitcoin Gold experienced a significant 51% attack in May 2018 that resulted in double-spend attacks on exchanges. In response, the project upgraded its mining algorithm from standard Equihash to Equihash-BTG (Zhash) to differentiate it from other Equihash coins and make such attacks more difficult. An additional 51% attack occurred in January 2020, further prompting security improvements.

For much of its history Bitcoin Gold operated as a Proof of Work cryptocurrency that emphasized GPU mining accessibility, on the belief that mining decentralization is essential for the security and fairness of a cryptocurrency network. In more recent years its activity and market presence have declined substantially, and in 2024 the team announced a strategic shift to "merge back to Bitcoin" (see the latest news below). Bitcoin Gold remains functionally similar to Bitcoin in most other respects, including support for SegWit and a similar scripting system.

Getting Started With Bitcoin Gold

  1. Step 1: Learn About Bitcoin Gold. Visit bitcoingold.org to understand the project's history as a Bitcoin fork, the Equihash-BTG mining algorithm, and its more recent shift toward merging back to Bitcoin.
  2. Step 2: Set Up a Wallet. Download a Bitcoin Gold-compatible wallet such as the official Bitcoin Gold Core wallet or a supported third-party wallet. BTG addresses start with a "G" prefix to distinguish them from Bitcoin addresses.
  3. Step 3: Acquire BTG. Purchase BTG on a supported exchange or mine it using a GPU. Transfer to your personal wallet for security and full control of your funds.
  4. Step 4: Use or Mine BTG. Use BTG for payments where accepted, or set up GPU mining to earn BTG by contributing hash power to the network using the Equihash-BTG algorithm.

How to Get a Bitcoin Gold Wallet?

Bitcoin Gold Core Wallet

The official Bitcoin Gold Core wallet is a full-node wallet available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It downloads and verifies the entire BTG blockchain, providing maximum security and network participation.

Exodus Wallet

Exodus is a multi-currency desktop and mobile wallet that supports BTG alongside many other cryptocurrencies. It provides a user-friendly interface without requiring a full node download.

Ledger Hardware Wallet

BTG is supported on Ledger hardware wallets through the Bitcoin Gold app, providing cold storage security for your holdings. This is the recommended option for securing significant amounts of BTG.

Bitcoin Gold Resources

How to Buy Bitcoin Gold?

BTG trades on a limited number of exchanges. Current market data lists HitBTC and Changelly PRO as the main venues carrying BTG pairs, with relatively low trading volume. Create an account, complete verification, deposit funds, and trade for BTG. Withdraw to your personal wallet after purchasing.

BTG can also be obtained through GPU mining using the Equihash-BTG algorithm. Mining pools for Bitcoin Gold are available and provide a more consistent income compared to solo mining.

Latest Bitcoin Gold News

According to the official Bitcoin Gold website, the project began a strategic shift in 2024 to "merge back to Bitcoin." The site describes a strategic upgrade dated January 22, 2025 (Korean time), after which BTGO held on supporting exchanges would automatically swap to BTG at a 1:1 ratio, repositioning Bitcoin Gold as an application layer rather than a standalone GPU-mining network. The official explanation of exactly how this merge back works is limited. In parallel, the token's market footprint has shrunk substantially: BTG now sits near the bottom of the market cap rankings with a market capitalization of only a few million dollars, and it was delisted by the Korean exchange Upbit in January 2025. Trading activity is thin and concentrated on a small number of venues.