Bitmain Releases New ASICboost Firmware as 6 Bitcoin Cash Mining Pools Adopt the Overt Technology

Asicboost Finds Adopters In Bitcoin Cash Mining Networks

Last month, BitcoinExchangeGuide had reported that China-based Bitmain had released new firmware to activate “Overt AsicBoost” on the Antminer S9.

Originally, the company had not planned to activate the firmware within their own mining hardware, based on “the legal uncertainty surrounding the use of AsicBoost.” However, now, the company is offering the firmware as a “boost” for miners that “have the capability to support this function a choice to avail this advantage without any negative impact on the Bitcoin protocol.”

Asicboost can increase the speed of the mining process by 20% by reducing the gate count on mining chips. Typically, the protocol is appropriate to all types of ASIC chips.

Since the launch of Asicboost, six BCH pools have been using the protocol mining 63 Asicbost blocks within a week. The six mining pools that use Asicboost on the BCH chain. The graph below shows the significant increase both BTC and BCH mining pools are getting through Asicboost.

Earlier Arcboost was not that prevalent as it was considered to be an overtly secret operation, however, an increased adoption has changed its perception. On the BCH network, mining pools have concocted 0.23 EH/s or 6.25% of the overall hashrate. Okminer has the proportions of the largest share of Asicboost blocks on the BCH network. The pool has approximately 10.3% of the global BCH hashrate.

Skeptics of Bitmain have quoted that the launch of Asicboost was deliberately held back., so that it provides an unfair advantage to particular pools. Notably, Bitmain doesn’t have the patents for Asicboost software.

Although BCH hashrate following the Asicboost has increased, it can’t be attributed to it. Mostly it is because of BCH markets increasing in value.