What Is Bitcoin Gold (BTG)? The 2017 Fork Explained

Summary: Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is a hard fork of Bitcoin created in October 2017. It kept Bitcoin's 21 million supply cap and transaction history but changed the mining algorithm so ordinary graphics cards could mine it instead of specialized ASIC machines. That choice also made it easier to attack: BTG suffered two 51% attacks, and exchange support and interest have faded since. It is not related to physical gold or gold-backed tokens.

• Bitcoin Gold split from Bitcoin at block 491,407 in October 2017.
• It uses an Equihash-based algorithm so GPUs, not ASICs, do the mining.
• Attackers double-spent BTG in 2018 and again in 2020.
• Despite the name, Bitcoin Gold has nothing to do with physical gold.

What Is Bitcoin Gold?

Bitcoin Gold was one of several forks that followed Bitcoin Cash in 2017. Led by Jack Liao of the Hong Kong mining company LightningASIC, the project argued that Bitcoin mining had become concentrated in a few large ASIC farms. Its answer was a coin anyone with a gaming PC could mine.

Because it forked from Bitcoin, everyone holding BTC at block 491,407 received the same amount of BTG. The developers also set aside about 100,000 BTG for themselves as an endowment, a decision that drew criticism from the start.

How Bitcoin Gold Differs From Bitcoin

• Mining: Bitcoin uses SHA-256, dominated by ASICs. Bitcoin Gold uses Equihash-BTG, a memory-heavy algorithm suited to graphics cards.
• Supply: both are capped at 21 million coins.
• Block time: about ten minutes on both.
• Replay protection: BTG uses separate transaction signatures, so a transaction on one chain can't be copied onto the other.
• Security: Bitcoin has vastly more mining power behind it, which is the difference that matters most.

The 51% Attacks on Bitcoin Gold

GPU mining has a downside. Graphics cards can be rented in bulk, so an attacker can briefly control most of a small network's mining power without owning any hardware. In May 2018 attackers did exactly that to Bitcoin Gold, rewriting recent blocks and double-spending roughly $18 million worth of BTG sent to exchanges. A smaller attack followed in January 2020.

The team changed the algorithm and added defences, but the damage stuck. Exchanges began requiring many more confirmations for BTG deposits, and some dropped the coin altogether.

Bitcoin Gold Price and Market Today

BTG traded above $400 in its first weeks and has lost almost all of that value since. Trading volume is low, few large exchanges still list it, and development activity is limited. Price prediction pages exist, but a thinly traded coin can move sharply on very little, so treat any forecast with skepticism.

Choosing a Bitcoin Gold Wallet

Wallet support for BTG has narrowed, so check before you send. The project maintains its own Electrum-based wallet, and some hardware wallets such as Ledger have supported it through their companion apps. Look at the maker's current coin list first, since support for smaller coins is sometimes removed.

Claiming Old Bitcoin Gold

If you held Bitcoin in October 2017, you may technically own unclaimed BTG. Claiming it means importing your old Bitcoin private keys into a BTG wallet, which exposes those keys. Move any remaining Bitcoin to a fresh wallet first, use only the project's official tools, and do this on a trusted device and connection, ideally through a VPN like AngelVPN. Fake claim tools that steal keys have been a common scam.

Should You Hold BTG in 2026?

Bitcoin Gold is a useful lesson in how forks can go wrong: a sound idea about fairer mining undercut by weak security and fading support. For most people it is a curiosity or a leftover from 2017 rather than a coin to buy. If you hold some, consider whether it still makes sense, and keep the rest of your crypto in a well-secured wallet.

For that, a hardware wallet is the safest option, and you can get a Trezor gift card with crypto.