Figure A. — a bad turtle

What if we support ASIC?

One option is to change nothing, and adapt to a world with ASIC miners on our network. Their presence would offer an increase in network hash-power, a decrease in the orphaned block rate, less pressure on the GPU market, and a new wave of miners currently being excluded from other networks as other dev teams work fast to discourage ASIC compatibility.

Let’s break that statement down, what does it really mean?

“ASIC would offer an increase in network hashpower”

These machines are very effective at turning power into hash cycles, which means that as they board the network in greater numbers, the difficulty, or the amount of cycles it takes on average to unlock a block every thirty seconds goes up.

These machines are very effective at turning power into hash cycles, which means that as they board the network in greater numbers, the difficulty, or the amount of cycles it takes on average to unlock a block every thirty seconds goes up. “a decrease in the orphaned block rate”

If the global hash rate rises 20x as a result of the presence of ASIC miners, the probability that two miners reach the same solution in the same second is drastically less, as the granularity has increased greatly.

If the global hash rate rises 20x as a result of the presence of ASIC miners, the probability that two miners reach the same solution in the same second is drastically less, as the granularity has increased greatly. “less pressure on the GPU market”

If you’ve been shopping for GPUs recently, as a gamer, you probably noticed that prices have almost tripled since this time last year. As cryptoassets gained popularity around March 2017, mining hardware and GPUs had a surge of popularity and limited supply, as the same hardware is used by gamers and miners alike. ASIC has one purpose, hashing a single algorithm. They can’t run Crysis. When they’re done, they’re done.

Figure B. — a good turtle

What if we don’t support ASIC?

On the other hand, we can choose to keep mining fair and decentralized, we won’t have to take an oath of servitude to the chip manufacturers, we can still increase our network hash-power, and we will have many uses for our old hardware when it’s no longer profitable to mine with.

Let’s unpack those statements:

“keep mining fair and decentralized”

ASIC manufacturers tend to be centralized in the same geographic area, with parts and resources produced sourced, designed and produced in-house. The potential for collusion or tampering with the flow of hardware from manufacturer to consumer is too high. This puts a single point of failure in front of too many parties that could have an interest in “squeezing” this market.

ASIC manufacturers tend to be centralized in the same geographic area, with parts and resources produced sourced, designed and produced in-house. The potential for collusion or tampering with the flow of hardware from manufacturer to consumer is too high. This puts a single point of failure in front of too many parties that could have an interest in “squeezing” this market. “we won’t have to take an oath of servitude to the chip manufcturers”

When we, as a network, become dependent on a handful of chip manufacturers, all with similar interests, we can no longer make decisions that require consensus to enact. For example, if we decide to change our hashing algorithm to improve the quality of the network, and a hardware manufacturer doesn’t feel like re-tooling for this change, all they need to do is overpower everyone else on the network with hash-power that they’re in control of supplying to us, and there would be no upgrade taking place as a result. This relationship dynamic is unsustainable.

When we, as a network, become dependent on a handful of chip manufacturers, all with similar interests, we can no longer make decisions that require consensus to enact. For example, if we decide to change our hashing algorithm to improve the quality of the network, and a hardware manufacturer doesn’t feel like re-tooling for this change, all they need to do is overpower everyone else on the network with hash-power that they’re in control of supplying to us, and there would be no upgrade taking place as a result. This relationship dynamic is unsustainable. “we can still increase our network hash-power”

Increasing the difficulty is a good thing for us, and in an algorithm change to eliminate ASIC, we are afforded an opportunity to deviate from our current hashing algorithm to a faster one that spins at a faster rate. This speed increase allows less risk of orphaned blocks.

Increasing the difficulty is a good thing for us, and in an algorithm change to eliminate ASIC, we are afforded an opportunity to deviate from our current hashing algorithm to a faster one that spins at a faster rate. This speed increase allows less risk of orphaned blocks. “many uses for our old hardware when it’s no longer profitable for mining”

ASIC hardware is good for a short amount of time before it becomes cost prohibitive to mine with. There is a regular upgrade cycle to keep up with production and difficulty. When your miner is no longer profitable, there is no resale value, and nothing inside the machine to be used for parts. When difficulty rises enough, you have a heater that generates 30 cents per year. GPUs can be resold, used for gaming, password hashing, 3D rendering, video production, and all types of research needing high amounts of number crunching power.

Is ASIC The Only Problem We Can Solve?

Another issue we face is related to the orphaned block issue we spoke about above, rented hash-power. Networks like NiceHash and botnets currently have the ability to cause timing issues on our network. They immediately dump a load of hash-power on the network, and parallel orphan chains start getting created. The increase in hash-power outpaces the difficulty and miners reach the correct result on block after block simultaneously, and sometimes ahead of schedule.

This has many concerns and frustrations attached to it. Some people even look at it as further securing the network, but regardless of which side you’re on, if the network is emitting blocks out of schedule, the reward suffers, the schedule suffers, and it can’t be good for the consistency of transactions for the normal user.

We’ve decided that while we’re at the drawing board, we may as well come up with a multi-faceted solution that addresses everything. If we can somehow make ourselves incompatible with ASIC as well as rented hash-power and botnets, we can give power back to the miners who are investing in our network by running rigs at home.