New algorithm uses novel method to extend POW
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IT experts at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have developed a new cryptographic puzzle that might one day be used as a security mechanism for digital currency such as Bitcoin. It consumes significantly less energy than the method used to date. The science magazine Rubin reports about their results.
Instead of using extra memory, like neoscrypt, it uses disk space as an additional POW.
http://phys.org/news/2016-06-energy-efficient-mechanisms-digital-currency.html
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@wrapper , Interesting read. Energy costs are holding crypto back as well as adding to the environmental issue. If we were to incorporate this hard drive method into a pre-existing coin it could massively improve hashing power and it would soon saturate the market to the point, everyone had one. I mean, if I could retro-fit this technology and it increased my hashpower by x4, I would still use all 4 of my GPUs instead of shutting 3 down and getting the same hashpower from one GPU for ¼ of the cost.
But for a new coin or in the form of a fork of an existing coin, cool!
That is, if I have understood it correctly. The reality with such an algorithm would be, you only need a good CPU and a HHD and not a high powered GPU. This may open crypto currency to more users rather than just appealing to gamers, fringe scientists, and computer geeks.Maybe if we were to cover our GPUs, CPUs and HHDs in Peltier plates and use them as thermoelectric generators for powering cooling fans. The fans could blow air over the cold side of the Peltier plates to help increase the heat differential across the plates. This in conjunction with other heat recovery systems may be the way forward.
I was thinking of making a water heater or coffee machine and power it with a Bitmain AntMiner C1 (water cooled) but my eyesight is not what it was and I have limited funds and care commitments.
Anyhow, maybe in the future our appliances such as washing machines will earn us coin as we wash. That said, I don’t run my tumble dryer since I became a miner. I just put the clotheshorse around my rig to dry our clothes instead. :smile: -
Re : Dryers :
One of FTC previous spokesperson ChrisJ wrote in forum history about a similar idea to have miners in greenhouses …
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@wrapper Good. Heat does not have to be seen as a loss in mining. We just need to be able to utilise it better.
@all Do you think it would be possible to fork feathercoin to Proof-of-Space? Would that be something the community would be interested in? Also, how realistic is this tech from being realised and will we see large mining farms pop up full of hard drives and CPUs?
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The additional disc based component to POW is experimental research at a University, it will depend how much money is spent to develop it, how quickly it is available. It will be interesting to follow it through, it’s an interesting idea that I think will come to some use if it’s open source…
Also, as I intimated, Feathercoin has had the experience of a similar level transition from Scrypt to Neoscrypt i.e. difficult to pull off hard forks.
This new development might end up as a function you can import in on Github , like “Kimoto Gravity Well”, it might be easier to implement than Neoscrypt, which @Ghostlander had to write a lot of from scratch.
It would mean a hard fork at some stage where miners would agree to change over to the new GPU + Disc based algorithm. If the decision is left too late and an ASIC was developed for Neoscrypt, then it would be more critical to move as soon as possible, if it looks like a small number of ASICs can control the network to could block the change.
Although, when Feathercoin changed over / hard forked from ASICs to GPUs, the ASIC could have blocked it but everyone sold their ASICs and went back to GPUs. That was for Litecoin Scrypt ASICs that were relatively easy to sell.
Note : The level of ASIC efficiency will not be as much for Neoscrypt to Scrypt.
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There is a Altcoin that has alrady implemented thisHHD technology called “Burstcoin”
https://web.burst-team.us/I am currenty mining:
feathercoin with my GPUs (600kh/s)
Groestlcoin with my CPUs (600kh/s)
and…I am in the process of setting up for:
Burstcoin with my HHDs (???k/hs)
Litecoin with my usb ASIC (5Mh/s)All on the same rig. Hope my 2kw PSU holds out!
