Bitcoin Core (BTCC)
A 2018 cryptocurrency fork — not the Bitcoin Core software
Overview
Bitcoin Core (BTCC) was a cryptocurrency project that emerged in mid-2018 from the Bitcoin Clashic (BCL / BCHC) chain. Clashic itself was a minority continuation of the original Bitcoin Cash rules after the November 2017 Bitcoin Cash difficulty-adjustment hard fork.
The project marketed itself as a return to “Core values,” emphasizing on-chain scaling, faster blocks, and privacy features. In practice it functioned as both a technical experiment and a pointed response to the branding conflict in which some Bitcoin Cash advocates referred to the original Bitcoin chain as “Bitcoin Core.”
Chain Lineage
BTCC sits several hard forks away from the original Bitcoin blockchain:
478,558 / 478,559 (1 Aug 2017)→ Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
BCH → ~block
504,031 (Nov 2017 DAA fork)→ majority chain continued as BCH; minority chain became Bitcoin Clashic (BCL / BCHC)
Bitcoin Clashic → ~block
576,698 (May/June 2018)→ Bitcoin Core (BTCC)
BTCC itself hard-forked again at block
588,672 (≈ 16 Aug 2018)
to change block time, reward, and difficulty adjustment.
Because of this multi-step history, simply holding BTC or even BCH at the original 2017 forks did not automatically produce BTCC. Coins had to remain on the Clashic branch through the later upgrade.
Key Technical Changes (Aug 2018 Hard Fork)
At block height 588,672 the project activated a significant protocol upgrade (client version ~0.16.2):
- 1-minute block target (1,440 blocks per day) instead of the traditional ~10-minute interval.
- Block reward adjusted to 1.25 BTCC to keep daily issuance roughly consistent with the old schedule.
- New, more reactive difficulty adjustment algorithm (30-period DAA with emergency rules for sudden hashrate changes).
- PROTOCOL_VERSION raised (to 80030); older nodes were disconnected before the fork.
- Larger effective block capacity (project materials advertised up to 8 MB).
The project also claimed “privacy by default” features and positioned itself as an on-chain scaling alternative that would complement rather than replace Bitcoin.
Technical Snapshot
| Algorithm | SHA-256 (ASIC-compatible) |
|---|---|
| Origin codebase | Descended from Bitcoin ABC → Bitcoin Clashic |
| Block time (post-588672) | ~1 minute |
| Block reward (post-588672) | 1.25 BTCC (subject to later halvings on adjusted schedule) |
| Replay / chain protection | Inherited and extended from Clashic / BCH lineage |
| Notable early block | At height 552,393 the project claimed a ~8 MB block (pre-1-min fork) |
Historical Context & Reception
BTCC appeared near the end of the 2017–2018 wave of Bitcoin-named forks. By mid-2018 market attention and liquidity for most of these projects had already declined sharply. Contemporary coverage often described the coin as a deliberate naming provocation aimed at Bitcoin Cash advocates who used “Bitcoin Core” as a pejorative for the original chain.
The project maintained a presence on Bitcointalk, GitHub, and short-lived websites (thebitcoincore.org / bitcoincore.cm). It later announced a rebrand / migration toward a project called Title Network, after which the original “Bitcoin Core (BTCC)” branding was effectively sunset.
Later Status
The original Bitcoin Core Squared / bitcoin-cored repositories were marked deprecated. Development attention shifted to Title Network. As with many of the lesser-known 2018 forks, public infrastructure (explorers, exchanges, wallets) largely disappeared over time. Any remaining chain activity should be treated as historical or experimental.
Resources & Archives
GitHub (bitcoin-cored – deprecated) Archived website (2018) Bitcointalk announcement thread