Bitcoin's SHA-256 algorithm for mining makes mining hardware expensive and causes the very issue that BTC was supposed to resolve: Class divide.
Monero fixes this by using its RandomX algorithm, which makes it so anyone could mine XMR. It also incorporates a tail emission, ensuring there will always be an incentive to keep mining. Therefore, XMR is safer from a 51% attack than BTC.
#Memes #Memestr #Crypto #Bitcoin #BTC #Monero #XMR #PoW #DeFi #Decentralization
safer if the *same amount of energy* is used to secure the network
and it's not, by several orders of magnitude.
The trade off is the network security is puny in comparison to bitcoin. The cost to 51% attack Monero is many orders of magnitude smaller than bitcoin. It’s not even close.
Plus if it ever got to be very large, governments and large corporate entities would farm mine with CPUs anyway. I think RandomX secures a marginal increase in decentralization only in the case that the money is not the top crypto asset. Decoupling general purpose CPUs from hashing crypto is, I think, quite necessary for the market for general purpose computers to avoid becoming prohibitively expensive and to remain focused on what a PC is meant for.
If Monero got really big like Bitcoin, it would either distort the PC market like Ethereum and other coins did to GPUs or it would result in the creation of specialized CPUs that are not really a great substitute for normal ass CPUs, a complex ASIC. You could mitigate that by continual revision of RandomX assuming there is always a software change that can consistently prevent specialized CPUs, but that still leaves the dual problems of PC market distortion and the same perceived problem in Bitcoin, a few miners having most of the hash power.
This last problem is only an issue when your everyday normie miner uses a centralized failure point or coordination mechanism (like a single mining pool sending out block templates like F2Pool or whoever). A Pareto distribution of miners is still expected and not problematic because of the rewards that go to miners who do not try to censor nor double spend, the moment any large actor in the space does that, as the mining market is free and the transaction fees for not censoring are generally higher. Monero mining would follow that same paradigm. The algorithm just determines which devices are being used like ASICs and which chains its security budget is directly competing against (DOGEcoin is winning against Litecoin as miners mine LTC and sell for DOGE: XMR competes with Wownero in the same way if I understand correctly).
the fear of "specialized CPUs" isn't really legit IMO
RandomX leverages CPU infrastructure to generate random *general purpose* programs. In order to make a RandomX ASIC you essentially have to build a better CPU.
How many trillions of dollars are already invested in building a better CPU? CPUs are essentially the crowning technological achievement of humans.
not saying that hardware optimization is completely impossible with enough incentive. only that its on the scale of something like putting together a moon base or Mars mission.
also
the point of making hash available via off-the-shelf hardware is so that, when adopted, there is enough *distributed hash* protecting the money that a centralized actor CANNOT execute a 51%.
IOW RandomX secures a marginal increase in decentralization exactly WHEN money is the top crypto asset.
think Bitaxe and Futurebit.
except more accessible.
do you ever checkin over here?
comments on the difficulty of hardware optimization?
Kaspa solves this. It’s already 92% mined and very little of it by ASICS.
How much money can a normal user earn from getting involved in mining, with normal hardware?
Depends so much on your hardware, and even more on whether you're paying for the electricity.
But a few $ / month per computer is typical for XMR.
You need to study Kaspa
Bitcoin is softwar, digitized power. Monero is just trying to be currency. Not exactly comparable systems.
I have a point, but it doesn't mean I don't like Monero.
Bitcoin miners operate with a sustainable business model, often supported by economies of scale and financial incentives. In contrast, Monero mining seems more voluntary and RandomX limits scalability, making it difficult to earn a living solely from mining.
