Bitcoin Atom is a bitcoin hard fork that claims to be creating a truly decentralized version of bitcoin. Find out how it works today in our review.

What Is Bitcoin Atom?

Bitcoin Atom is a proposed bitcoin fork featuring atomic swaps, hybrid consensus, and Lightning Network support. The hard fork is listed under the symbol BCA. It will be exchanged 1:1 with bitcoin.

The goal of Bitcoin Atom is to bring true decentralization to the world of bitcoin. To do that, Bitcoin Atom’s development team has used features like built-in hash time-locked contracts (HTLCs) and its own HTLC API in order to disrupt the way we exchange cryptocurrencies, giving independence from intermediaries and centralized entities (like exchanges).

Atomic swaps, meanwhile, allow users to swap assets directly between blockchains without the need for an intermediary. You can swap Litecoin and Bitcoin Atom, for example, without relinquishing control up to the moment your Bitcoin Atom leaves your wallet and your partner’s Litecoin arrives in your wallet. This removes the need for exchanges.

The end result is a more transparent type of digital asset trading. Any attempts to churn volume using on-chain atomic swaps will be detectable by passive observers. That means users cannot show up with a small number of coins, then create a ton of fake volume covertly.

Because of these and other benefits, Bitcoin Atom envisions a bright future. The hard fork for Bitcoin Atom launched in mid-December. Let’s take a closer look at how it works.

How Does Lightning Network Hard Fork Bitcoin Atom Work?

Bitcoin Atom’s network is secured using hybrid consensus, which means both PoW and PoS models are in place, increasing network stability and reducing the power of miners. This lowers the attack probability by 51%.

Despite having proof of stake and proof of work, however, Bitcoin Atom is not inflationary in terms of its emission: PoS only serves the goal of decentralizing network power. the maximum supply of BCA remains the same as the original bitcoin (there are 21 million BCA).

The Bitcoin Atom hard fork occurred in mid-December. Any bitcoin holders who held bitcoin prior to the hard fork own an equivalent amount of Bitcoin Atom. You will receive Bitcoin Atom at a rate of 1 BTC = 1 BCA.

The coins are distributed via mining, minting, and claiming.

You can already claim your Bitcoin Atom. As of December 25, wallet maker Coinomi has announced support for Bitcoin Atom. Bitcoin Atom wallet users who hold bitcoin (BTC) can claim BCA via their Bitcoin Atom wallet. Coinomi has done the same for the previous Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Gold (BTG) forks, and it was the first wallet to support those hard forks as well – so it makes sense they would support Bitcoin Atom.

Bitcoin Atom Tech Specs

Bitcoin Atom’s tech specs look like this:

Symbol: BCA

Maximum Total Supply: 21 million

Distribution: Mining, minting, and claiming

PoW Algorithm: SHA256

PoW Block Interval: 10 minutes

PoS Block Interval: 10 minutes

Actual Block Size: 1MB (2 to 4MB upgrades possible)

Difficulty Adjustment: Every 2 weeks

Average Transaction Confirmation Time: 5 minutes

Atomic Swaps: Yes

SegWit: Yes

Replay Protection: Yes

Unique Address Format: Yes

Bitcoin Atom BCA ICO Conclusion

Bitcoin Atom, or BCA, is a Segwit-enabled bitcoin fork featuring on-chain atomic swaps, the Lightning Network, and a decentralized consensus mechanism that combines PoW and PoS. It’s a unique project that also utilizes has time-locked contracts, or HTLCs, and its own HTLC API to create “true” decentralization and independence.

Bitcoin Atom was originally scheduled to launch with a hard fork in mid-December. Then, the date moved to late December. As of December 29, the hard fork doesn’t seem to have taken place. The Bitcoin Atom Twitter account appears to have been suspended from Twitter, so it’s hard to get a current status update on the project.

The last update from the team was posted on Medium on December 27. That update claims they’re still on track to implement Lightning Network into Bitcoin Atom in 2018, and the project appears to be moving forward.

To learn more about Bitcoin Atom and its ambitious goals, visit online at BitcoinAtom.io.