Vitalik Buterin: ASIC mining defense is not a good idea

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin rejects the usefulness of plan EIP 958 proposed by Piper Merriam. This protocol update can install measures which will ultimately prevent the price manipulation with the use of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

The main reason why Buterin thinks there is no sense in immediate upgrade is that the need to adapt to the new protocol will unnecessarily rock the boat. Another solid reason is that many people seem to forget about Casper. After this major change of Ethereum blockchain, the users of Bitmain devices will not be able to dictate their will to the community even if they briefly reach this goal at some point prior to the update, Buterin noted.

The anti-ASIC defense mechanisms are becoming increasingly popular in altcoin communities. It’s easier to mine Ethereum and Monero than Bitcoin, which also makes it easier for manipulative mining whales to appear. Monero has already implemented the set of measures preventing powerful ASICs domination in the hash rate, while in the community of Ethereum decisions are usually being made slower.

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