When on August 1, 2017 we lived with disbelief and a certain fear the first hard fork of Bitcoin that gave rise to Bitcoin Cash, we could not imagine what was coming. An authentic fever of forks, derivations of the original block chain and a real rain of coins. So much so, that listing all of them already begins to be a considerable task.
Not all of these new currencies are especially interesting. Even some of them, clearly seem silly. Hence, many people call them "shitcoins". Even so, if you have any amount of Bitcoin, they are still free coins that can be simple digital products of collection or, also, provide clear benefits if you sell them in an Exchange.
Some, however, are really interesting because they have been created to try to improve Bitcoin itself that already suffers from numerous ailments. Therefore, they could not only achieve a similar value but, even more importantly, replace it in their facet of decentralized currency for daily use.
THEY ARE COINS FOR FREE BUT DO NOT HURT
If you have Bitcoin at the time the fork occurs, you will also have the new currency that will follow, from there, its own path or blockchain. Many people are impatient and want to get them as soon as possible to be able to sell them at a good price and get the maximum benefit.
My advice is do not rush. If you had Bitcoin at the time of the fork, even if you later spent the Bitcoin or sent it to another wallet, you can always get the new coins. Of course, I am referring to having the Bitcoin in a wallet in which you control the private keys. The basic scheme to take advantage of a Hard Fork I have described here: BITCOIN: FINAL GUIDE FOR THE NEXT HARD FORK. No nonsense.
Why do I tell you not to rush? because in the rush you can commit serious mistakes. Keep in mind that you will use your private keys to "claim" your new coins. Even if a Hard Fork has been produced it does not mean that there are wallets for those coins or Exchanges to sell them, yet. What there is usually is many fake sites that all they want is to divest you of your savings. Let's see an example:
Do you see the difference between these two websites? ↑ ↓
The first is the official of one of these forks: Bitcoin God. The one below is an exact copy of it with a very similar URL. It can even come out in a better position in a search engine. But there it asks you to enter your private key to check if your new coins are available. And if an innocent little creature in a hurry, nxious to get their free coins, falls into that error, goodbye to his Bitcoin or his Bitcoin God; or both, if the Bitcoin wallet is still full.
Therefore, my advice is that, unless you have a pressing need and are willing to take risks ... wait until all or almost all the forks have passed. And that each of them, or at least those that may be really interesting, have developed their own wallets or one of the main and well-known multi-coin wallets implement it. If you wait, maybe one of these new coins has fallen into oblivion or, also, have acquired a higher value. You never know. But in these things, excessive risks are usually not worth it.
BITCOIN FORKS LIST
(With links to their official websites For the forks that have not yet had an effect at the time of writing this list you can check which block we are currently on blockchain.info)
BITCOIN CASH - the first and also one of the most important, with real possibilities of becoming a substitute for the original. In fact, for many people it is much closer to the original idea of Satoshi Nakamoto. The fork was produced in block 478559 on August 1, 2017. For every BTC you had the moment of the fork, you get 1 BCH.
BITCOIN GOLD.- It seems that it is getting its space in the world of cryptocurrencies; maybe for having been the second or, also, for its characteristics. It was created from block 491407 on October 24, 2017 and was distributed at a rate of 1 BTG for each BTC. In my case I ended up selling them all to acquire other cryptos. But there it is, maintaining its value.
BITCOIN DIAMOND.- The fork was produced in the block 495866 on November 24, 2017. It provides 10 BTD for each BTC but I have not yet claimed them because, truthfully, none of the wallets that appear on its website convince me. And they cite an exaggerated amount of Exchanges most of which still do not admit it. Still, it changes into some important ones like Binance, or the emerging Kucoin, for example.
UNITED BITCOIN.- In the block 498777 the fork was produced, on December 12, 2017. However, the UBTCs were only distributed to BTC addresses that they considered "active", that is, those that moved BTC between November 11th. and December 12. A part of the remaining UBTCs (approximately 30% of them) will be redistributed among those addresses. The process has seemed complicated to me or I am very lazy so I have decided to forget about UBTC. The world of cryptocurrencies is wide and I will not cry.
BITCOIN HOT.- was born in the block 498848 on December 12, 2017. Since the total amount of coins is greater than BTC, 100 BTH are distributed for each BTC. I do not know if today there is an Exchange that has admitted it and the only wallet that supports it is its official one. The truth is, I'm not too enthusiastic about it, so there it will be, in limbo, until I remember it again.
SUPER BITCOIN.- Forked in the block 498888 on December 12, 2017. It is at the rate of one SBTC for each BTC. This superchinese fork pretending, like many others, to be a Bitcoin with steroids, does not have a wallet that convinces me or Exchange more or less international that supports it. Another one saved there, in case it ever says something more interesting that makes me fall in love.
BITCOIN X.- The 498888 block was especially prolific because it also gave rise to this creature that describes itself as the "true Bitcoin for the future". With a much larger amount of coins in circulation is offered at 10000 BCX for each BTC. It has almost everything to do and if their developers manage to do all, possibly it will also has something solid to say. Meanwhile, there is no wallet to support it. That is, one more that has joined the car of the forks with nothing concrete yet, except its own blockchain.
LIGHTNING BITCOIN.- It came to the world in the block 499999 also on December 12, 2017. It is called "lightning" because each block is produced every 3 seconds which is certainly fast, unusual and who knows if sustainable. The truth, of the wallets that say on its website that they support it, I still have not found one that certainly does. So, to the basket of the futuribles.
BITCOIN TOP.- The fork was produced in block 501118 on December 26, 2017. The truth is, to avoid walking around with nonsense, it seems like a shit stuck in a stick.
BITCOIN GOD.- This is funny. It intended to be born on December 25 but since that depends on the BTC block that was 501225, it can be said that God miscalculated and was born on December 27, 2017. It is distributed at a ratio of 1:1. The speech in its website is also remarkable, as good as its current lack of support. But it is still early; who knows if it will receive the visit of the three wise men.
BITCOIN FILE.- It was born trying to eat the world in the block 501225 on December 27, 2017. As there will be 21,000,000,000 circulating coins, they will be distributed at the rate of 1000 BTFI for each BTC. At the time of making this list there are no Exchanges or wallets in which to put it.
B2X or BITCOIN SEGWIT2X.- Second attempt to implement Segwit2X now by a new team of developers. Apparently it has the support of some Exchanges so it will be necessary to follow it closely from block 501451 around December 28, 2017.
BITCOIN PIZZA.- With the block 501888, on January 1 we will have this other fork. Nobody knows if it is a joke or a serious intent. For each BTC you will get 1 BTA. I do not know, it's all weird, including his Misterious Developer in the team of circumspect Koreans.
BITCOIN CASH PLUS.- Fork of fork, that is, the first fork of Bitcoin Cash. It is planned for the block 501407, around January 2, 2018. It aims to unite the advantages of BCH with a more decentralized development so as not to be a victim of political interests.
BITCOIN SMART.- It will be created in the block 505050 on January 21, 2018. For each BTC you will receive 100 BCS + 100 Bitcoin Smart Test Tokens. It wants to implement smart contracts through which you can automatically create your own tokens. It sounds interesting but, at the moment, there is not much information on its website.
BITCOIN INTEREST.- It is planned for the block 505083 that should be created approximately on January 22, 2018. For each BTC you will have 1 BCI. The idea is to get an interest from the BCI saved in some way and by registering on its website. The interest to be distributed comes of part of the rewards that the miners receive. It's a little bit freak, like its own developers.
BITCOIN LITE.- Expected on January 31, 2018 according to its website where there is not much more except a whitepaper that looks like a draft.
BITCOIN ATOM.- The block in which the fork will be produced has not yet been published but it is expected to be sometime in January 2018. The well-known multi-currency wallet Coinomi has announced its support for this project, which is why the expectations are quite high. Its strong point will be the implementation of Atomic Swaps which can be somewhat disruptive to how we change between cryptocurrencies currently. You will get 1 BCA for each BTC.
And that's all for now, folks. Happy New Fork!
Important note: making this list has taken me some time and, in addition (it is notorious), English is not my native language. I greatly appreciate the goodwill and a positive vote. Thank you very much.