Ever since Bitmain unveiled its CryptoNight ASIC miner, there has been a growing effort to make this hardware impossible to use. Known as the Fairmining initiative, more and more currencies are deliberately changing their algorithms to prevent Bitmain’s ASIC from making much of an impact. Sumokoin is the latest currency to make the much-needed switch in this regard.
The new SumoKoin Algorithm
It is commendable to see so many cryptocurrencies take notice of the CryptoNight ASIC miner. Although Bitmain believes these mining units will make customers a fair bit of money, it seems highly unlikely that will be the case. In fact, fewer and fewer coins can be mined with these units, making them all but obsolete before they even arrive at customers’ homes.
Sumokoin’s developers have taken a strong stand against Bitmain’s latest ASIC miner. Even though the network has been “attacked” by these new machines for several days straight, it seems that will come to an end fairly soon. With a new algorithm about to be put in place, there is nothing to be overly concerned about as a Sumokoin enthusiast.
Speaking of this “attack”, it seems the Sumokoin network had a hashrate of 210 MH/s. That is quite high for a currency with a market cap of just $3 million, especially considering that Monero had a 1GH/s hashrate and a $3 billion market cap. It seems someone was deliberately pointing miners at a smaller CryptoNight currency, although those efforts will be thwarted in the near future.
With an impending fork to this new algorithm on the horizon, the appeal of Bitmain’s CryptoNight ASIC diminishes even further. Although Sumokoin’s developers could have followed XMR’s example in this regard, they opted to take a completely different approach. Various currencies are already using this ASIC-resistant algorithm, and it is possible others will flock to it as well.
Earlier this week, we touched upon some issues faced by the Electroneum network. It is possible they were due to the influx of ASIC miners as well, although that has not been officially confirmed at this stage. The network’s mempool was flooded beyond its normal capacity, and miners crippled the network in the process. Assuming this was an actual attack, the malicious intent of ASIC miners is growing quite worrisome.
Whether or not this effort by Sumokoin will pay off remains to be seen. It is good to see so many currencies reject these ASIC mining units before they can do irreparable damage. For anyone currently waiting for their unit to arrive, this is perhaps the worst news they have gotten in weeks. Additionally, these developments only further fuel the rumors that ASICs have been mining all CryptoNight coins for quite some time now.
