Bitcoin Block 491, 407 is Almost Here; What a Cluster Fuss

Bitcoin Gold and Block 491, 407 Have Been a Bit of a Headache

For about a month we have heard that Oct 25 was the date for Bitcoin Gold. However, it has become clear that block 491, 407 is the key. That block will occur mid-day on the 23rd.

As I write this we are on block 491, 374. Consider, a block is mined about every 10 minutes, so 491 407 is only hours-ish away (it is fast approaching).

That is exciting, but honestly this whole experience over the past month has been a giant “cluster fuss.”

First off, no one really agreed on when the snapshot would happen (not like a month ago, but as of right now only hours before what might be the snapshot). Consider, Coinbase says it already occurred, Bittrex said the 24th, the official site said the 25th (and meanwhile I’m pretty sure its none of these and specifically its block 491, 407 as a block is logical and a magical date isn’t).

Sure, all these sources noted block 491, 407… but they did not draw the same conclusions about what that block meant.

Pair this with the fact that Bitcoin Gold does not currently have:

• Fully formed consensus code
• Implemented replay protection
• Adequate code for testing and auditing
• Publicly known code developers

…and what you have as a ball of red flags, shade, and frustration.

Clearly, the lure of free coins is great. And Bitcoin Gold might end up being a great score for those who get it. But being a person running a site that is trying to help people figure out what to do (and being a Bitcoin investor and using Bitcoin in a limited fashion for business) during this cluster has been a bit stressful.

Imagine trying to explain to people that either 1. the block matters, 2. Coinbase is right and it already occurred, 3. Bittrex is right and it happens on the 24th, or 4. the magic 25th date on the site is right (and these were just the best answers I found, not the only ones).

If you can’t imagine, let me reiterate, it feels stressful.

Anyway, stress aside, this block will too soon pass, and then moving forward we’ll be able to blog about what actually happened (and we’ll be able to let you know for example what happened if you had BTC in coinbase for the block and 23rd – 26th if those are magic dates).

So fingers crossed this all goes well, but let me just say, “Can we please as a community make sure the next hard fork isn’t a complete nightmare for everyone? Bitcoin Cash and SegWit had their problems, but they went over rather smoothly. Bitcoin Gold and SegWit2x seem to both being causing problems. After we get over this hurdle. Let’s cut it with all the forks shrouded in mystery and controversy and focus on stabilizing Bitcoin.