Ethereum wants to Ban ASICS (2024)

FAQs

Can Ethereum be mined with ASICs? ›

What ASIC miners can mine Ethereum? The most popular ASIC miners for Ethereum are: Bitmain Antminer E9: This miner has a hash rate of up to 2.4 GH/s and consumes 1920 watts of power. It is the most powerful Ethereum ASIC miner available.

Ethereum employs the Ethash Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining algorithm, which is designed to be ASIC-resistant, ensuring a more decentralized mining process. The memory-intensive nature of Ethash makes it difficult for ASICs to gain a significant advantage over general-purpose hardware, such as GPUs.

GPU mining offers flexibility because it is possible to mine multiple cryptocurrencies with GPUs. The graphic processing units can efficiently mine altcoins, especially Ethereum. ASIC stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit. It is a microchip specifically designed to execute a hashing algorithm.

It cannot be used for anything else. ASIC is an abbreviation for “Application Specific Integrated Circuit”. This means it has been designed and built with only one purpose in mind.

Ethereum is ASIC resistant because the network uses the Keccak-256 hashing algorithm that rejects hashes from ASIC machines. This algorithm is engineered to generate only hashes for mining purposes and does not serve any other computing function.

ASIC Miner Advantages

Because each cryptocurrency has its own cryptographic hash algorithm, an ASIC miner is designed to mine using that specific algorithm. For example, Bitcoin ASIC miners are designed to hash the SHA-256 algorithm, while Litecoin (LTC) uses scrypt (pronounced es-crypt).

Bitcoin mining requires substantial hardware and software. Miners need a graphics processing unit (GPU) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

If you are a startup miner, a GPU may be the better choice. It can be used for various purposes, and it is affordable. If you plan to mine on a larger scale, ASICs are the better choice. It is generally easier to use and more efficient than a GPU.

How long do ASIC miners stay profitable? ›

In general, you can expect the latest ASIC miners to last around 5 years to a decade depending on your operating conditions and maintenance. However, with technology advancements, if many new ASIC miners come in the future, the current ASIC may turn obsolete, impacting your profitability.

This specialized design allows them to solve blockchain puzzles faster and more efficiently than general-purpose hardware like GPUs. The high efficiency of ASIC miners means they offer a greater hash rate – the speed at which these puzzles are solved and new blocks are added to the blockchain.

The Scrypt standard, however, is ASIC resistant. Blockchain networks with Scrypt were implemented to ensure traditional mining hardware works well, making the mining process more accessible due to the lack of ASIC support. Also, miners on the Dogecoin network are called 'diggers' as a joke.

Bitmain Antminer S19 XP Hyd – The most powerful (and expensive) ASIC machine. The Bitmain Antminer S19 XP Hyd is the most powerful ASIC miner on the market. It has a hash rate of 255 TH/s, and a power consumption of 5,346 W. This makes it an ideal choice for miners who want to maximize their profits.

The Antminer E9 PRO is designed to leverage the Ethash algorithm, making it ideal for mining Ethereum Classic. It stands out with its impressive ability to provide exceptional hashrates, reaching up to 3680MH/s.

ASIC Miners, or Application-Specific Integrated Circuit Miners, are specialized devices engineered with the sole purpose of mining cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, by solving complex mathematical problems known as hashing algorithms.

Bitcoin (BTC): most popular crypto to mine

To effectively mine Bitcoin, one requires advanced ASIC equipment, for example, an Antminer S21 Hyd. This is one of the most powerful mining hardware available, designed to tackle Bitcoin's complex mathematical puzzles.