How Do Different Hashing Algorithms, like Ethash Vs. SHA-256, Influence Hardware Choice?
The design of the hashing algorithm dictates the most efficient hardware. SHA-256, used by Bitcoin, is computationally intensive but not memory-intensive, making it ideal for the brute-force speed of ASICs.
Ethash, originally used by Ethereum, was designed to be memory-hard, requiring large amounts of fast memory access. This design favored the memory architecture of GPUs, making them the superior choice until specialized Ethash ASICs were later developed.
Glossar
Ethash
Algorithm ⎊ A specific Proof-of-Work hashing function, historically utilized by Ethereum, designed to be memory-hard, thereby favoring general-purpose hardware over specialized ASIC miners.
Hashing
Cryptography ⎊ Hashing functions are foundational to the security of cryptocurrency systems, providing a deterministic transformation of input data into a fixed-size output, crucial for block creation and transaction verification.