Algorithms

ASIC Resistance

Designing a mining algorithm so specialised hardware gains little advantage over consumer CPUs/GPUs — rarely successful long-term, with Monero the notable exception.

ASIC resistance aims to keep mining decentralised by ensuring commodity hardware stays competitive. Techniques include memory-hardness (Scrypt, Ethash), program randomisation (RandomX, ProgPoW/KAWPOW), and credible threats to hard-fork against any ASIC that appears.

History is mostly a graveyard: Scrypt, Equihash, and kHeavyHash all fell to ASICs once coin prices justified chip development. The exceptions prove the formula — Monero combines a genuinely CPU-shaped workload with demonstrated willingness to fork, and remains ASIC-free after six-plus years.

Go Deeper on MiningReturns

→ ASIC vs GPU Mining

Related Terms

RandomX
KAWPOW
ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)

See it in numbers

Model real profitability with live network data.

Open Calculator →