What Is ASICBoost Version-Rolling for DragonMint Bitcoin Miners?
It was in 2018 that DragonMint announced that they now had a license that would allow them to use ASICBoost. This DragonMint 16T Bitcoin miner would be the first that would use something called “version-rolling” ASICBoost. As many already know, ASICBoost is a method that is used to help reduce the overall cost of Bitcoin mining by about 20%. It does this by reducing the gate count on the mining chips, which can help with the consumption of energy and the overall cost of using the system to mine. It can make quite a difference when it comes to the profitability of a machine, and with version-rolling, it can provide some other benefits.
The version-rolling with these miners is entirely transparent, and it will not cause any disruptions. It will work well, and you will not have to worry about the creation of smaller blocks, as you might with merkle grinding. Version-rolling will not interfere with Bitcoin protocol upgrades either.
Why Did DragonMint Choose These Options?
The use of ASICBoost along with version-rolling can help to provide some benefits to those who are mining cryptocurrency and who choose the Bitcoin miners that have these features available. In addition to being able to save on the cost of mining, it can help to make the entire process more efficient. It would not have been possible without a range of different patents, of course.
DragonMint B52 also hopes that it will help to show other patent-holding companies in the field to become more open with the idea of creating a pool of patents that can ultimately help to provide more access to energy-efficient technology. Eventually, they hope that it can help to optimize the process of mining for Bitcoin. They believe that as more and more start to use version-rolling, there will be even more incentives for those who have not made the transition yet. It is the most efficient type of ASICBoost option available, and it should only continue to get better.
DragonMint had been under an embargo after it had negotiated a license to use ASICBoost in the miners they were creating. The company was not allowed to speak about it or put miners with the system up for sale until ASICBoost was available to all through the use of a defensive patent license. Now that the embargo is over, the company has committed to creating and producing a large number of miners that have these technologies in them.
There will likely be other mining manufacturers that will be doing the same, and that will start to utilize ASICBoost and version-rolling in their miners. They can do this with no problem, as long as they join the blockchain defensive patent initiative. With more and more companies taking this route and providing better miners for all, it can help to keep the industry safer from those who would otherwise try to have aggressive patents that would severely hamper progress in the industry.
Resource: https://halongmining.com/blog/2018/03/07/dragonmint-btc-miner-uses-version-rolling-asicboost/