So why should you care?

Quite a few reasons actually.

First, the list of improvements and bug fixes is gargantuan.

How big is gargantuan?

It includes well over 100 upgrades as can be seen on Monero’s original post here (a list of changes is also included at the end of this article).

Some highlights include;

“…enabled Bulletproofs for reduced transaction sizes, sets the ringsize globally to 11 for uniformity of transactions, updated the PoW algorithm to CNv2, and finally sets the max transaction size at half of the penalty free block size.”

Upgrading to the CNv2 Proof of Work algorithm, also known as CryptoNightV8, is a huge step forward in my (sarcastically humble) opinion. In the race against ASIC’s (chips that are specifically designed to do only one thing but to do it extremely well) algorithms are king.

It’s the algorithm used by cryptos such as Monero, Loki, Electroneum, etc. that make them ‘CPU-mineable’.

Technically, any cryptocurrency that uses a Proof of Work consensus mechanism is ‘CPU-mineable’. It’s just useless to do so if ASIC’s can use it as well.

It’s like trying to compete financially against Amazon by holding a garage sale. Without a garage. Or anything to sell.

Monero, and similar ‘CPU-mineable’ cryptocurrencies, are in a constant battle with ASIC manufacturers to stay one step ahead. As soon as an ‘ASIC resistant’ algorithm is released… ASIC makers are developing ways to work around it. The CNv2 algorithm will, most likely, keep Monero CPU-mineable and ASIC-resistant for at least a bit longer.