Bitcoin Interest (BCI) Hard Fork Coming Soon, What’s Good to Know

Bitcoin Interest (BCI), which was forked from Bitcoin in the spring of 2018, is having another hard fork. This time, however, the asset will not split, or create a new coin. BCI, instead, will usher in a dramatic update - a change to its mining algorithm.

Bitcoin Interest split off from the Bitcoin blockchain on block 505,083, and the scheduled hard fork will happen when the Bitcoin Private chain reaches block 542,524.

https://twitter.com/btcinterest/status/1037726902637744130

Like many coins mined on Equihash, Bitcoin Interest saw the inflow of ASIC miners. This poses two problems - one is the displacement of GPU miners, who cannot compete with the higher difficulty. The other potential problem is the risk of a 51% attack, when a large number of ASIC machines manage to take over more than 51% of the network.

Bitcoin Interest will move away from Equihash and use the ProgPoW algorithm. Bitcoin Interest will be the first blockchain using ProgPoW to disable the competitive advantage of ASIC. The ProgPoW solution for Ethash has been proposed for the Ethereum network, which also saw an inflow of ASIC. ProgPoW is a solution that optimizes all mining equipment, and disables the advantage of the powerful ASIC.

In a short explanation on what ProgPoW is supposed to do, GitHub contributor ifdefelse gave an initial explanation, before delving into technicalities:

“The design goal of ProgPoW is to have the algorithm’s requirements match what is available on commodity GPUs: If the algorithm were to be implemented on a custom ASIC there should be little opportunity for efficiency gains compared to a commodity GPU,” reads the GitHub entry.

Thus, the BCI digital asset will be different compared to other coins, especially when it comes to being able to resist the effect of ASIC mining.

Later this Friday, the project has scheduled a live YouTube broadcast, with more details of the ASIC-resistant hard fork.

https://twitter.com/btcinterest/status/1037804574634074117

In terms of market prices, BCI has been hit hard by the bear market. Starting from a peak of $23.04, the coin slid to the current level of $1.42. BCI also lost 90% of its value in BTC prices, falling from 0.002 BTC, to 0.0002 BTC. The coin started trading on June 8, and is carried by Bitfinex, TradeSatoshi, HitBTC, and Exrates.

The Bitcoin Interest project is a minable coin, which also allows for a form of staking, in which coin owners receive interest on their holdings. Longer staking times pay out a higher interest, of 1.62% per month on the sum of coins left for staking.

Neither the author nor the publication assumes any responsibility or liability for any investments, profits, or losses made as a result of this information. Cryptocurrency trading and investing are risky propositions, and market participants are advised to always conduct thorough research.