Merged-mining EIP-918 token requiring valid 0xBitcoin hashes to mint
Historical Significance
0xGold is one of the more technically distinctive EIP-918 clones: rather than running its own independent difficulty, it implements merged mining by requiring callers to submit valid 0xBitcoin proof-of-work hashes. This allowed miners to earn 0xGold as a byproduct of mining 0xBitcoin, importing a well-known Bitcoin sidechain pattern into the EIP-918 ecosystem. It is part of the 130+ EIP-918 clone wave that followed 0xBitcoin in 2018.
Context
Deployed in August 2018, six months into the EIP-918 clone wave and after the easiest plain-rebrand variants had already been claimed. The merged-mining design was an attempt to differentiate from the dozens of cosmetic 0xBitcoin clones by adding a real economic link to 0xBTC: miners didn't have to choose between the two tokens, the same hash search produced rewards in both.
Token Information
Key Facts
Description
0xGold is an EIP-918 mineable token deployed in August 2018 that pitched itself as a currency for the gaming industry. Its distinguishing technical feature is merged mining: rather than maintaining a fully independent difficulty target, the mint function requires callers to submit valid 0xBitcoin proof-of-work hashes. A miner working on 0xBitcoin can use the same compute work to earn 0xGold alongside 0xBTC, much as merged mining lets Bitcoin miners simultaneously mine sidechains.
Like the other EIP-918 clones, 0xGold launched with no ICO, no premine, and no founder reward. All circulating supply is produced by miners submitting valid solutions.
Heuristic Analysis
The following characteristics were detected through bytecode analysis and may not be accurate.
Byzantium Era
First Metropolis hard fork. Added zk-SNARK precompiles, REVERT opcode, and staticcall.