Bitcoin Diamond Explained in English
Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) is a hard-fork of the Bitcoin blockchain that aims to enhance the transaction speed and decrease the fees to a negligible amount. It was launched on November 24th, 2017, and claims to offer faster and more secure payments than Bitcoin. The team behind the project believes that Bitcoin Diamond is the perfect solution to the shortcomings of Bitcoin, such as slow transaction speeds, high transaction fees, and other issues.
What is a Hard-Fork?
Before diving into Bitcoin Diamond, it is essential to understand what a hard fork is and how it works. A hard-fork is a major change in a blockchain's protocol that results in the creation of a new blockchain that is separate but similar to the original. This change also creates a new cryptocurrency. The most significant difference between a hard-fork and a soft-fork is that a hard-fork is not backward compatible, and all users on the old chain must upgrade to the new chain's protocol to participate and receive the new currency.
What Makes Bitcoin Diamond Different?
Bitcoin Diamond has a maximum supply of 210 million, ten times the amount of Bitcoin's 21 million. It is even more abundant than Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin combined. This increase in supply means that there are more coins in circulation, which leads to a lower value per coin. However, it also makes it possible for more significant and faster transactions at relatively low fees.
Bitcoin Diamond has implemented several features that make it stand out from Bitcoin, such as:
- Segregated Witness (SegWit): This feature was proposed as a way of reducing the size of transaction data on the blockchain, resulting in faster transactions and lower fees.
- Lightning Network: A payment channel built on top of the Bitcoin network that allows for faster transactions and lower fees.
- Increased Block Size: Bitcoin Diamond has a block size of 8MB, which is four times that of Bitcoin's 2MB block size. This feature can accommodate more transactions in a single block, resulting in faster confirmation times.
- Enhanced Security: Bitcoin Diamond has implemented improved encryption algorithms that offer more protection than Bitcoin.
- Decentralization: Bitcoin Diamond's network is more decentralized than Bitcoin. This ensures that no single entity controls the network, resulting in improved security and fewer chances of a 51% attack.
Conclusion
Bitcoin Diamond was created to address the challenges facing Bitcoin, mainly slow transaction times and high transaction fees. With its lowered transaction fees, faster transaction times, larger block sizes, and an increased supply of coins, Bitcoin Diamond offers users an alternative that addresses these challenges. It is essential to note that Bitcoin Diamond is a relatively new cryptocurrency that is still in its infancy. Its reputation is not yet established, and, as with any investment, it is vital to do your research before investing your money.