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‎docs/mining/concepts/acceptable-fee-rate-config.md

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# Acceptable Fee Rate Config
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The acceptable fee rate refers to the minimum fee rate that miners are willing to accept during the mining process. If
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the transaction fee rate is lower than the acceptable fee rate, miners will not include that transaction. The acceptable
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fee rate is a crucial parameter for miners as it directly impacts their revenue.
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Configuring the acceptable fee rate is an important mining strategy. Miners can set different acceptable fee rates based
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on their circumstances. If the acceptable fee rate set by the miner is too high, they might miss out on some low-fee
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transactions, thereby affecting their revenue. If the acceptable fee rate is set too low, they might accept some low-fee
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transactions, but these transactions might reduce the connectivity between miners and increase the risk of orphaned
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blocks. For more details, please refer to [Reorg and Orphaned Blocks](reorg-orphan-51attack.md).
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Therefore, configuring an acceptable and reasonable fee rate is one of the important strategies for miners to
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participate in the network game and maximize their revenue.
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## Fee Rate Configuration Methods
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In the [node startup command](../../nodes/installation/start-up-command.md), there are two parameters related to
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transaction fee rates: `-blockmintxfee` and `-minrelaytxfee`.
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- `-blockmintxfee`: The minimum transaction fee rate accepted for mining, measured in satoshis. Transactions with a fee
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rate lower than this configuration will not be included in the block by the node. The default value is 500 sat/KB.
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- `-minrelaytxfee`: The minimum transaction fee rate accepted by the node, measured in satoshis. Transactions with a fee
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rate lower than this configuration will not be forwarded by the node. The default value is 250 sat/KB.
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To improve node connectivity and balance network performance, it is recommended to use the default configuration during
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mining.

‎docs/mining/concepts/asic.md

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# ASIC
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Introduction to the evolution of POW mining equipment.
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## Evolution of Bitcoin Mining Equipment
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The evolution of Bitcoin mining equipment reflects technological advancements and increased competition. From the
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initial use of CPUs to GPUs, and eventually to Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), each type of equipment
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represents a different technological stage with its own characteristics.
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### 1. CPU (Central Processing Unit)
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**Significance**: When Bitcoin first emerged, mining primarily relied on the CPUs of ordinary computers. This was
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because Bitcoin's computational difficulty was low, and there were few participants, allowing substantial rewards even
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with CPU mining.
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**Characteristics**:
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- **High Availability**: Almost all computers have CPUs, making the initial entry barrier low.
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- **Versatility**: CPUs can perform various computational tasks, not just mining.
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- **Limited Computational Power**: CPUs have weaker parallel computing capabilities, resulting in lower mining speed and
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efficiency.
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**Hash Rate Range**:
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Early CPU hash rates were very limited, typically ranging from a few MegaHashes per second (MH/s) to several hundred
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MegaHashes.
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Modern multicore CPUs can reach tens of MegaHashes per second, but they still lag significantly behind later mining
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devices.
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### 2. GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
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**Significance**: As Bitcoin gained popularity and mining difficulty increased, miners began seeking more efficient
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solutions. GPUs, with their powerful parallel computing capabilities, gradually replaced CPUs as the mainstream mining
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equipment.
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**Characteristics**:
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- **Strong Parallel Computing Ability**: GPUs have numerous computational cores, allowing them to handle multiple tasks
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simultaneously, which is well-suited for Bitcoin mining's proof-of-work algorithm.
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- **High Efficiency**: Compared to CPUs, GPUs perform hash calculations faster and with lower power consumption.
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- **Wide Application**: Besides mining, GPUs are widely used in graphics rendering, scientific computing, and machine
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learning.
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**Hash Rate Range**:
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GPUs' hash rates are significantly higher than CPUs, especially in parallel computing.
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Early GPUs had hash rates around 100 MH/s to several hundred MH/s.
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Later high-performance GPUs can reach hash rates of several GigaHashes per second (GH/s).
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### 3. ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)
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**Significance**: To further enhance mining efficiency, ASIC devices specifically designed for Bitcoin mining emerged.
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ASICs have taken Bitcoin mining's specificity and efficiency to the extreme, fundamentally changing the mining market
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landscape.
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**Characteristics**:
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- **High Efficiency**: ASICs are custom-designed for specific tasks, and their computational power and energy efficiency
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far exceed those of CPUs and GPUs.
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- **Strong Specialization**: ASICs can only perform specific algorithm calculations, making them suitable for mining
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Bitcoin and other specific cryptocurrencies.
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- **High Cost**: Developing and manufacturing ASICs require significant investment, and the equipment is also expensive.
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- **Market Concentration**: Due to ASICs' high efficiency and cost, the mining market has gradually become dominated by
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a few professional miners with substantial capital.
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**Hash Rate Range**:
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ASIC devices are designed specifically for mining, with hash rates far surpassing CPUs and GPUs.
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Early ASIC devices had hash rates of several GigaHashes per second (GH/s) to hundreds of GigaHashes.
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Modern efficient ASIC devices, like Bitmain's Antminer S19 Pro, can reach hash rates of 200 TeraHashes per second (TH/s)
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or higher.
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Currently, MVC's mining algorithm is the same as Bitcoin's SHA-256, using ASIC devices.
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## Introduction to ASIC
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### Principle of ASIC
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ASIC stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, designed for specific uses. Unlike general-purpose CPUs and
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GPUs, ASICs are specifically designed for particular computational tasks. In Bitcoin mining, ASICs' primary task is to
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perform the SHA-256 hash algorithm, the core of Bitcoin's proof-of-work mechanism.
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ASICs directly implement the steps of the SHA-256 algorithm through hardware circuits, avoiding the complex instruction
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decoding and pipeline control needed by general-purpose processors, thereby significantly improving computational
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efficiency and energy efficiency. This allows ASICs to perform the same tasks faster and with less power consumption
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than CPUs and GPUs.
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### Design Philosophy
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1. **Specialization**: The design goal of ASICs is to focus on specific computational tasks. In Bitcoin mining, this
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means ASICs are dedicated to performing SHA-256 hash calculations. The design team optimizes the circuits, removing
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all unnecessary functions to maximize hash rate and energy efficiency.
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2. **High Efficiency**: ASICs achieve extremely high computational efficiency through hardware-level optimization. Since
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they do not need to handle other tasks, ASICs can complete massive hash calculations with minimal power consumption,
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giving them an edge in the competitive mining market.
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3. **Customization**: Each ASIC chip is meticulously designed and tuned to meet specific performance and energy
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efficiency requirements. This customized design philosophy ensures significant performance improvements with each
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generation of ASIC devices.
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### Implementation Overview
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1. **Circuit Design**: The first step in designing ASICs is circuit design. Engineers design efficient logic circuits
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based on the SHA-256 algorithm's requirements, including arranging logic gates, registers, and clock signals. The
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goal of the circuit design phase is to ensure that each hash calculation step can be completed in the shortest time.
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2. **Logic Simulation**: After completing the circuit design, engineers use simulation tools for logic verification.
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Through simulation, they can confirm the correctness and performance of the circuit design. This stage is crucial as
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it can detect and correct design errors, ensuring the final chip's functionality and performance.
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3. **Layout Design**: Following logic verification, the process moves to layout design. This involves translating the
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logic circuit into a physical circuit layout, ensuring each component's actual position and connection on the chip.
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Layout design must consider signal delay, power distribution, and heat dissipation to ensure the chip's stability and
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high performance in real-world operation.
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4. **Manufacturing and Testing**: After completing the layout design, the design files are sent to a semiconductor
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manufacturing plant for chip production. Once manufactured, the chips undergo rigorous testing, including
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functionality and performance tests, to ensure each ASIC chip meets design requirements.
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5. **Packaging and Deployment**: Chips that pass testing are packaged and integrated into mining devices. Packaging not
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only protects the chip but also provides necessary interfaces for installation and use. Finally, the packaged ASIC
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chips are deployed in mining farms, starting efficient Bitcoin mining operations.
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## Conclusion
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The emergence and application of ASICs have ushered Bitcoin mining into an era of efficiency and specialization. Through
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specialized circuit design, hardware-level optimization, and precise manufacturing processes, ASIC devices achieve
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extremely high hash rates and energy efficiency, far surpassing traditional CPUs and GPUs. In the future, as
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semiconductor technology continues to advance, ASIC performance and efficiency will further improve, providing more
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robust support for Bitcoin and MVC mining and other specialized computing tasks.
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The evolution from CPUs to ASICs also illustrates continuous technological progress and innovation, laying a solid
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foundation for the development of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. The application of ASICs not only propels
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Bitcoin mining forward but also offers new ideas and solutions for specialized computing in other fields. In the future,
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ASIC devices will continue to play a crucial role, injecting new vitality into the development of blockchain and
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cryptocurrencies.

‎docs/mining/concepts/asicboost.md

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# ASICBoost
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Introduction to a method to optimize mining power—ASICBoost.
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In the field of Bitcoin mining, as competition becomes increasingly fierce, various optimization techniques have
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emerged. Among them, ASICBoost is a technology that can significantly improve the efficiency of mining machines. This
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article will analyze what ASICBoost is from a professional technical perspective, its implementation principles, why it
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can improve the efficiency of mining machines, and how mining pools support ASICBoost.
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## What is ASICBoost
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ASICBoost is a technology proposed by Dr. Timo Hanke in 2016 that improves Bitcoin mining efficiency by optimizing the
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SHA-256 hash calculation process. ASICBoost reduces the power consumption and time required for each hash calculation by
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eliminating certain repetitive steps in the hash computation. This optimization can be implemented on existing ASIC
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hardware without requiring physical modifications to the chip.
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For a detailed understanding of the ASICBoost technology, please refer to the
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paper: [AsicBoost - A Speedup for Bitcoin Mining](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1604.00575).
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## Introduction to ASICBoost Principles
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The core idea of ASICBoost is to utilize intermediate states of the SHA-256 hash calculation. The SHA-256 algorithm is
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an iterative process where each round of computation depends on the output of the previous round. ASICBoost reduces the
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total computation by introducing "intermediate state reuse" in the hash calculation.
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Specifically, ASICBoost can be implemented in two ways:
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1. **Explicit ASICBoost**:
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- Explicit ASICBoost is a public and transparent method that optimizes proof-of-work (PoW) calculations by modifying
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specific fields in the Bitcoin block header. This method requires changes to a part of the Bitcoin protocol and
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can be detected by other nodes on the network.
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- Explicit ASICBoost is mainly achieved by modifying the version field in the block header. This method requires
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miners to make specific optimizations in their mining equipment and software. By adjusting the version field in
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the block header to produce the same intermediate state, it reduces the computational load. Different version
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numbers can map to the same intermediate hash state, allowing the reuse of previously cached intermediate states
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when calculating new hashes.
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2. **Covert ASICBoost**:
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- Covert ASICBoost is a concealed method that optimizes PoW calculations without altering significant fields in the
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block header. This method is difficult for other nodes on the network to detect, hence the term "covert."
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- Covert ASICBoost is more complex and typically requires specific circuit design and optimization at the hardware
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level to reduce the computational load.
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**Differences**:
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- **Transparency**: Explicit ASICBoost is open and transparent, easily detectable; covert ASICBoost is concealed and
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hard to detect.
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- **Implementation**: Explicit ASICBoost mainly involves modifying the version field in the Bitcoin protocol; covert
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ASICBoost involves optimization through hardware circuit design.
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- **Community Reaction**: Covert ASICBoost, being hard to detect and considered potentially unfair, is controversial
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within the community. Explicit ASICBoost, being transparent, faces relatively less controversy.
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Currently, the mainstream implementation of ASICBoost is explicit ASICBoost because it is relatively simple and easy to
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implement, and it is also more detectable by other network nodes.
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## Reasons for Increased Efficiency
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The primary reasons ASICBoost can improve mining machine efficiency are:
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1. **Reduced Computation**: By reusing intermediate states, ASICBoost reduces the total computational load required for
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each hash calculation. This means that mining machines can perform more hash calculations in the same amount of time,
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increasing overall hash power.
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2. **Lower Power Consumption**: With fewer unnecessary computational steps, mining machines consume less power for each
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hash calculation. This is particularly important for large-scale mining farms, as electricity costs are a significant
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part of their operating expenses.
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3. **Hardware Optimization**: ASICBoost does not require physical modifications to existing ASIC hardware and can be
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implemented through firmware or software updates. This allows existing mining machines to quickly deploy and utilize
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this technology to improve mining efficiency.
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## How Mining Pools Support ASICBoost
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To support ASICBoost, mining pools need to make some adjustments and configurations. This mainly involves the
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verification and management of the work submitted by miners. Specifically, mining pools need to:
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1. **Work Task Generation**: When generating work tasks, the mining pool needs to create tasks that can utilize
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ASICBoost. This includes adjusting the version field in the block header to fit the ASICBoost computation model.
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2. **Work Verification**: The solutions submitted by miners need to be verified by the mining pool. The mining pool must
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be able to recognize and validate the hash calculation results using ASICBoost to ensure their legality and validity.
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3. **Software Compatibility**: The mining pool needs to update its software to ensure compatibility with miners using
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ASICBoost. This includes protocol adjustments and optimizations to support ASICBoost features.
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4. **Collaboration and Coordination**: Mining pool operators need to collaborate with miners and ASIC manufacturers to
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ensure the smooth implementation and deployment of ASICBoost technology. This includes providing technical support
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and assistance to help miners implement and optimize ASICBoost.
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## Stratum Protocol Changes
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The [Stratum protocol](stratum-protocol.md) is a commonly used communication protocol between miners and mining pools.
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To support ASICBoost technology, mining pools can make corresponding adjustments and optimizations through the Stratum
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protocol. This includes:
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**Protocol Extensions**: Mining pools can extend the Stratum protocol to add support for ASICBoost. This includes
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defining new message types and fields to transmit ASICBoost-related information. Compared to the ordinary Stratum
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protocol, ASICBoost extends the following plugins:
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* "version-rolling"
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* "minimum-difficulty"
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* "subscribe-extranonce"
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**mining.configure**: The mining pool can send ASICBoost-related configuration information to miners via the
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mining.configure message. This includes specifying the method of using ASICBoost and version field adjustments, among
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other things. This is also a way to distinguish ASICBoost miners from ordinary miners.
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```json
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{
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"method": "mining.configure",
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"id": 1,
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"params": [
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[
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"minimum-difficulty",
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"version-rolling"
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],
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{
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"minimum-difficulty.value": 2048,
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"version-rolling.mask": "1fffe000",
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"version-rolling.min-bit-count": 2
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}
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]
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}
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```
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**Using the version-rolling Plugin**: The version-rolling plugin is a crucial part of ASICBoost, used to adjust the
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version field in the block header. Mining pools can send version field adjustment information to miners via the
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version-rolling plugin to support the ASICBoost computation model.
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```json
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{
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"method": "mining.configure",
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"id": 1,
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"params": [
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[
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"version-rolling"
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],
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{
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"version-rolling.mask": "1fffe000",
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"version-rolling.min-bit-count": 2
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}
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]
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}
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```
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The mask field specifies the mask for the version field, and the min-bit-count field specifies the minimum number of
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bits for version adjustment. These two fields determine the range that the version can be adjusted.
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When handling work submitted by ASICBoost miners, the mining pool needs to adjust and verify the block header
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accordingly based on this configuration to correctly package the transactions.
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For more details, please refer
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to [Stratum Extensions](https://github.com/slushpool/stratumprotocol/blob/master/stratum-extensions.mediawiki).
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## Conclusion
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As a technology to optimize Bitcoin mining efficiency, ASICBoost significantly improves the computational efficiency and
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energy efficiency of mining machines by reducing repetitive steps in the SHA-256 hash calculation. Its implementation
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principle mainly relies on reusing intermediate states, which can reduce computation and lower power consumption. Mining
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pools can support ASICBoost technology through appropriate adjustments and configurations, providing a more efficient
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mining environment for miners. As the Bitcoin network continues to develop, innovative technologies like ASICBoost will
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play an important role in improving mining efficiency and reducing operational costs.

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