New forms of crypto security and verification being tested
The Zcoin cryptocurrency is planning on moving to Merkle tree proof
Through a direct challenge to the different types of industrial-grade efforts that have transformed the once-lonely cryptocurrency mining into a multibillion-dollar activity. We now have Zcoin which has held itself up as the first cryptocurrency to “democratize” the mining process by using a Merkle Tree proof, which is based on a PoW algorithm in order to resist ASIC mining hardware devices.
According to a press release that was presented, this came from the team behind the Zero-knowledge proof privacy cryptocurrency named Zcoin, with the newfangled feature that sticks to a centralized mining farm and purportedly levels the playing field for miners of the Zcoin protocol-based cryptocurrency.
The well known and massive Beijing-based Bitmain has captured a vast portion of the BTC block rewards for years using its proprietary ASIC mining equipment. This will at times also become a fight of sorts for Bitcoin maximalists, when this huge hash power tests the dreaded 51% attack threshold.
There were no names reveal however but the Zcoin COO Reuben Yap seemed to suggest that the advantages offered to affluent mining outlets were making mining a zero-sum game when it comes to profits.
he also noted in a comment that:
“Miner centralization is a growing issue amongst Blockchain communities, as those with the resources to dedicate research and development towards the development of ASICs are able to gain a significant advantage over the network and reap the rewards.”
According to Bitmain’s balance sheet, the spoils of ASIC-enabled hardware devices would signal victory and will be plentiful. Through a previous report by CryptoSlate, data that was leaked in August has allegedly stated that in the first quarter of 2018 the mining company had taken more than $1.2 billion in profits as a collection of mining pools like Bitcoin hashing power reached its all-time highs.
Merkle tree proofs to be integrated into Blockchain
The introduction of ASICs miners has risen some issues when it comes to mining as it has taken the democracy out of the equation for miners. However, there are some creators that claim that the Merkle Tree proofs (MTPs) technique can be the answer towards creating an “egalitarian” PoW network.
This can be achieved through the amplification amount of a one-way hashing algorithm. MTPs that purportedly vets all miners to prove they are not exceeding the computational power of conventional hardware, such as CPUs. This then offers no let up to the abundant horsepower that is seen in ever-improving ASICs device.
According to one of the protocol authors, Professor Dmitry Kovratovich, this seems to suggest that MTP can take an ASICs out of businesses on any Blockchain:
“The primary idea with MTP is to build a PoW algorithm on a very fast and memory hard hash function, called Argon2. Now, any distributed protocol can include MTP in its rounds to ensure that different parties use different machines, which is ideally desktops.”
This kind of proposition should come as music to the ears of decentralization proponents, as regional bans on ASIC equipment in places like Vietnam. This has put a different type of work into Bitcoin’s existentially open, inclusive and geographically node base implementations.
What is your opinion on this potential idea in mining with ASIC? Feel free to leave your comment down below.
