Even though Bitcoin and Ethereum are two very different projects, they are often mentioned in the same breath. Given the fact that both are top two cryptocurrencies, that is no real surprise whatsoever. Bytether is a project offering a new way to create a cross-chain fork of Bitcoin onto the Ethereum network. It’s an intriguing venture, although its use cases remain a bit unclear at the time being.
Bytether is Interesting, but Still Strange
It almost seems as if everyone wants to fork Bitcoin for one reason or another. This doesn’t mean every one of these forks will be successful or introduce something new, mind you. Bitcoin Cash has made its point very clear and is still around as an altcoin. Bitcoin Gold still has very little support and will conduct a premine of sorts. SegWit2x is around the corner, which may be the biggest challenge for Bitcoin to date. An interesting future awaits as far as that project is concerned.
Which brings us to Bytether, a different kind of Bitcoin blockchain fork compared to anything else we have seen to date. The project is designed to create a 1:1 cross-fork of the Bitcoin blockchain onto the Ethereum network. More specifically, the team has copied the Bitcoin blockchain and reissued it on Ethereum, although the real purpose of doing so remains unclear. We do know there will be a new currency associated with this chain, as it will not entail Ethereum-based Bitcoins whatsoever.
Instead, we will see the creation of the Bytether currency, with a total supply cap of 21 million. This will be an ERC20 token issued without an associated ICO, which is good to see. Moreover, this new token will benefit from all the technical advantages Ethereum has to offer, while maintaining the characteristics of Bitcoin. The team calls it “the new Bitcoin”, which is pretty ludicrous if you ask us.
Users interested in this currency will need to first verify their Bitcoin addresses using the Bytether website or MyEtherWallet. Users will receive BTH at a one-to-one ratio relative to their BTC holdings at the time of the “fork”. However, there is an optional referral program as well. People who share their referral code with others will receive more currency from the “growth pool”. It sounds like a very unusual scheme, to say the very least, and has all the characteristics of a new airdrop. That doesn’t mean BTH will have any value whatsoever.
Although the Bytether approach can be considered to be rather novel, the last thing we need is another Bitcoin clone. Bytether’s team claims it will do things differently, though, as they want to create a vastly superior currency than Bitcoin ever will be. There is no reason to have a Bitcoin equivalent on the Ethereum network, as that is not what Ethereum was designed to provide – especially not if the entire supply of this new token is created out of thin air and distributed based upon BTC holdings and a referral program.
Whether or not Bytether will succeed remains to be seen. It is an idea very few people will get behind, other than to claim some tokens and potentially take advantage of the referral incentive. Other than that, it remains highly doubtful Bytether will ever be used for anything other than speculation. That alone could make it worthwhile to some people, but the general community will dismiss this idea as yet another attempt to ride Bitcoin’s coattails.
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