Which Bitcoins are out there?

If you are new to crypto and have heard the name Bitcoin before. You must have noticed that there are many other cryptos out there and also many other Bitcoins. This might be very confusing. So that is why in this blog we take a look at some of the cryptocurrencies that use the name “Bitcoin” and see what sets them apart.

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All the Bitcoins in the list below run their complete own blockchain and are not on the same network. All of them have different statistics, levels of security, and use cases. We will describe them in their own section. But before we dive into that you should understand that all of them aim at mass adoption in a different way. And that when we or other people say Bitcoin we rever to “Bitcoin” and not Bitcoin Gold. This also goes for mentions of Bitcoin Cash or Bitcoin SV. So all of them will be mentioned by their full name. In the case of the Bitcoin that currently sits as number 1 on the crypto market cap we rever to just Bitcoin.

Some other people might revert to it as Bitcoin Core. But this will still talk about the same Bitcoin/BTC.

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We do want to say that we will try to be as objective as possible and do not want to express our opinion on which Bitcoin is the so-called best. Neither do we recommend buying or selling any crypto as we do not hand out financial advice.

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Bitcoin

You have heard of the name Bitcoin for sure. But you might have heard of other cryptos or other Bitcoins. However, each crypto has its own use case or blockchain. Just like there are thousands of stocks on the stock market. With each stock representing its own company that makes its own products.

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The first-ever created cryptocurrency thus was Bitcoin. And because of its early status, it gained many adopters and support. Which in return made it into one of the strongest and most used networks in the world.

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Bitcoin with its ticker BTC stands at the top as the largest cryptocurrency. But it has its limits at the moment. This is why other versions of Bitcoin were created. However, the teams building on BTC try to not solve these problems on the first layer (the main blockchain) but rather on a second layer level. So they do not have to trade-of its security and decentralization.

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With the lightning network as one of the fastest-growing layer 2 for transactions and Stacks, Defi-chain, RSK, and many others trying to focus on smart contracts. So you can do DeFi on Bitcoin.

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Look through all the BTC wallets here and learn more about BTG on their website.

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Bitcoin Cash

When in early 2017 Bitcoin ran into some scalability problems a heated debate started. This debate was about whether or not the block size of Bitcoin should be increased. So more transactions would be allowed on the chain for a cheaper price. This sounds of course great but did come with a less decentralized model as this would make the blockchain grow faster and harder to store for some people.

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This debate went on for some time. But in early 2017 the community decided that they would just split in 2 and both continue their own way. The people in favor of bigger blocks thus created a copy of the original blockchain and made the change to it. And time would tell which side was right.

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This new split of the Bitcoin blockchain is now called Bitcoin Cash. People the had their BTC before the split would have the same amount on the new blockchain where the token is called BCH.

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Look through all the BCH wallets here and learn more about BTG on their website.

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Bitcoin SV

A little more than 1 year later the BCH community fell into a civil war again. This time with a smaller community after the first split. But not any less fierce. This resulted in a new split from the newly created bigger block network. With even bigger blocks and the spokesman of the network (Craig Steven Wright) claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

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The news blockchain network is now called Bitcoin SV (Satoshi’s Vision). With the idea that it does what Satoshi wanted. However, whether you believe in the matter and if you like to use the network or not. The BSV blockchain currently grew into one of the largest networks by data. With its blockchain exceeding more than 2.5 terabytes.

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Look through all the BSV wallets here and learn more about BTG on their website.

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Bitcoin Gold

In 2017 BCH was not the only crypto that forked off the Bitcoin blockchain. No, also many other new coins forked off the network. One of them being the Bitcoin Gold blockchain.

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When BTG split off to its own blockchain. It did not do so offer a huge debate but more from a community incentive. What Bitcoin Gold changed about its network was mainly the mining algorithm. As the team members believe that the current Bitcoin mining algorithm will only result in large parties holding control over BTC mining. So to change this they switched to a different one that makes it easier to mine from your own PC.

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BTG still has a very active developers team and does do a lot of research on their blockchain which will in return benefit all the forks that came from the main Bitcoin blockchain and the original chain itself too.

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Look through all the Bitcoin Gold wallets here and learn more about BTG on their website.

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Bitcoin Diamond

Just like BCH and BTG, Bitcoin Diamond split from the main BTC blockchain in 2017. This was done by an anonymous team that did not just want to change the block size. But also the mining algorithm and supply of coins.

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This ended up with yet another Bitcoin out there called Bitcoin Diamond. BCD was given to everyone that held BTC before the split at a 1 to 10 ratio. Meaning that if you had 1 BTC you would also have 10 BCD on the new network.

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Although the network switched to a new mining algorithm, they still use a version of Proof of Work. This means that you will have to spend computer power to earn BCD and secure the network.

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Look through all the BCD wallets here and learn more about BTG on their website.

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Wrapped Bitcoin & Bitcoin Bep2

If you sometimes look at websites for crypto prices like CoinmarketCap and CoinGecko, you have maybe seen WBTC and BTCB in the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Both these coins do not run on their blockchain or are made are a split of the main Bitcoin blockchain. But rather a tokenized version of BTC brought to another blockchain.

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The reason for this is because some other blockchains like Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain allow for financial applications on top of their networks. If you would want to use your BTC in these applications you would have to bring it over to them. People have solved this problem by locking the BTC and creating a token pegged 1 to 1 on these other networks. This way you can use your BTC on top of BSC or ETH.

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Tokens like these are thus representatives of BTC but as a token.

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Look through all the ERC-20 and BEP-2 wallets here.

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End

We hope this article thought you a bit more about which Bitcoins are out there. If you wonder if you can send Bitcoin to Metamask click here. But if you have any other crypto-related questions you want us to answer, then feel free to reach out to us on our social media.