Scrypt-based miners and the new cryptocurrency arms race
Manufacturers are planning to ship scrypt-based equipment that will speed up mining and reduce the power overhead for the alternative cryptocurrency algorithm. Could this fuel the next cryptocurrency arms race? Most cryptocurrencies that are mined by computers use a 'proof of work' algorithm, designed to make them prove that they have invested the computing power in producing the coins. Bitcoin uses SHA-256, but many alternative coins (altcoins) use another system, called scrypt. One of the biggest differences between scrypt and SHA-256 is that the former relies heavily on computing....
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KnCMiner announced its first scrypt miner yesterday and today it reported that it already has $2m worth of pre-orders. In fact, all the orders for KnC's Titan models were made in just four hours. The Titan is based on the KnC Jupiter form factor, but it is an entirely different beast, as it's based on a scrypt ASIC rather than a bitcoin ASIC. KnC has not said much about the spec, we still don't know the details, but the company says the Titan can deliver 100MH/s. It is priced at $9,995. According to the International Business Times, KnC plans to build 2,500 miners in its initial production....
MAT Bitcoin ASIC 6TH/s. Netherlands based company Mining Asics Technologies B. V. (MAT) today announced it would start taking pre-orders for a new range of Scrypt ASIC miners. MAT is one of the first companies to introduce a wave of powerful new Bitcoin Asic miners and Scrypt ASIC miners for Dogecoin, Auroracoin, Feathercoin, Litecoin and other scrypt cryptocurrencies. Pre-orders are open from 12 March 2014. Standalone Scrypt ASICs. All of MAT's ASICs are standalone embedded application devices featuring a Linux operating system running CGminer. The devices can be configured via webGUI....
A new currency based on litecoin has gained more traction in two weeks than its predecessor did in a year. Feathercoin lets cryptocurrency miners generate a new coin that's very similar to Litecoin, but with far less difficulty. For now, anyway. Both feathercoin and litecoin are designed to be mined through a different technique than bitcoin. Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm, whereas the other two use Scrypt, a password-based key derivation function. The biggest difference with Scrypt is that it is biased against FPGA and ASIC miners ... normally the heavyweight machines of the....
Zeusminer Lightning will start shipping 5/20. Zeusminer is offering Scrypt ASIC miners ranging from a few MH/s up to 72 MH/s. They originally promised to deliver by the end of Q2 2014, and Zeusminer has today announced that they will exceed that goal. Zeusminer plans to ship out the first 500 paid orders between 5/20 and 5/25 with the pace of shipping picking up even more after that date. Zeusminer, along with many other Scrypt ASIC companies, have also announced intentions to offer hosting for customers who have “nagging wives” that don’t want miners causing noise pollution in the garage....
ZeusMiner has been a hit in the Scrypt ASIC Miner manufacturer world. They released their miners at many locations in the field. First, they sold units directly to customers. Second, they did OEM manufacturing for companies like GAWMiner and Hashra. Being able to do both spurred huge growth for the new manufacturer. With the growth and large sales numbers, ZeusMiner has been able to surpass the initial reach that Gridseed, the first Scrypt ASIC miner manufacturer to the market, achieved in a big way. ZeusMiner On The Global Scrypt Mining Network and Next Gen Scrypt Miners. ZeusMiner has....