Why Did Some Cryptocurrencies Intentionally Adopt Mining Algorithms Resistant to ASICs?

Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (originally) and Monero adopted ASIC-resistant algorithms to promote decentralization. This strategy aimed to prevent mining power from being concentrated in the hands of a few large ASIC manufacturers or farms.

The goal was to keep mining accessible to individuals using commodity hardware like GPUs. This maintains a more equitable distribution of mining rewards and increases network resilience against a 51% attack.