Master Splinter with his creation, Bitcoin Pizza

Bitcoin is currently impossible to counterfeit in the traditional sense. That said, Bitcoin’s open and decentralized nature means that it is possible to make nearly identical copies of the BTC code and create a knock-off Bitcoin network. There is nobody to stop you from copying and pasting the code and running a different suite of software. This process is known as “forking,” and is the closest equivalent to counterfeiting that Bitcoin has experienced thus far. With your knock-off Bitcoins, you are unable to spend them on purchases that require Bitcoin (BTC)- they are clearly not Bitcoin as validated by the BTC network- but you can spend your knock-off Bitcoins when working with an exchange or merchant who chooses to accept them.

2017 kicked off this new fad of “forking” Bitcoin with the advent of “Bitcoin Cash” (BCH). It is impossible to use BCH for purchases when a merchant is asking for Bitcoin, but regardless, BCH has managed to generate a market for itself — 1 BCH is currently worth about 12% as much as Bitcoin on the exchanges. This is a substantial reward for those who understand how “forking” works and how to capitalize on it.

When someone forks Bitcoin, there are a few methods they can use. The most popular forking method is to create an exact duplicate of the blockchain at a specific point in time. This means that everyone who owned Bitcoin before the time of the fork, now has coins on the new knock-off Bitcoin because the knock-off ledger is identical to the Bitcoin ledger at that moment in time. So, in the case of BCH, everyone who owned Bitcoin prior to August 1 2017 (the date of the fork) now has duplicate BCH on the BCH network. As long as your software isn’t buggy, every transaction that occurs after the time of the copy (on either ledger), is no longer visible to the other network since you are now working on separate networks.

Digital treasure hunting

Paying attention to the forks can be a highly profitable endeavor. BCH currently trades at 12% of a Bitcoin, but that is not the only fork out there. There are about 30 that I know about. Most of these have a diminishing rate of return, anywhere from 0.01–2% BTC, but compounding interest can make these worth it if you’re measuring your profits in Bitcoin.

Say I start out with 1 BTC. Converting my BCH to BTC gives me 1.12 BTC. Then Bitcoin Gold (BTG) comes out in October, and starts trading at about 2%. Converting that into more BTC gives me 1.1424 BTC. Then comes along Bitcoin Diamond, Super Bitcoin, BitcoinX and United Bitcoin. These 3 forks combined get you about 2% more BTC. Now my 1.1424 BTC is worth 1.165248 BTC. Then comes along BTF, B2X, BTX, BTP, BTW, BTV, and Bitcoin Pizza, which is clearly Master Splinter’s true vision for Bitcoin. All of these together might get you another .5%, which brings our total to 1.17107424 BTC. 17% more Bitcoin for free, just from converting the knock-offs as soon as possible into Bitcoin, with .6% more free BTC just from the compounding interest of doing this 3 times.

Holding onto these fork coins might earn you more BTC if the price per BTC happens to pump and you time your sell correctly, but they will definitely earn you more BTC if you convert them as soon as you can. The forks just keep coming too. This year we have some forks with nice websites like Bitcoin Private, Bitcoin Atom, and Bitcoin Hush, which will almost certainly get us another 1–2%.

Warning

You are exclusively responsible for your Bitcoin. Claiming your forked coins is risky, reduces your BTC anonymity, and may require you to work with sketchy exchanges, but there are services available for the less technical folks, and some community members have even released free tools. Before using any of these services or attempting to claim a fork, always move your Bitcoin into a fresh wallet with new private keys under your control first.

Additional Resources:

My guide to getting started with Bitcoin: https://medium.com/@philgeiger/a-gentle-introduction-to-bitcoin-c8f6e55855c1

Find a Bitcoin ATM near you to try it out: CoinATMradar

USD Exchanges/Bitcoin banks: Coinbase, Gemini

Euro Exchanges: Bitonic, Bitstamp

Be your own bank on your phone or computer with a BTC wallet: Android — Samourai, Mycelium, iOS- Edge, Breadwallet, from a computer — Electrum