Monero is one of the foremost privacy-focused cryptocurrencies in the world and is the netizens privacy coin of choice. As part of its plans to be completely decentralized and secure, it frequently has to implement hard forks to rid the network of ASIC miners. Recent patterns indicate that several ASIC rigs are currently operating on the network, creating a realm of centralization from these handful of miners. When the hard fork goes live on March 9th, it’s expected that around 5,400 ASIC rigs will be removed from the network – causing the hash rate to drop significantly.
Anyone Can Mine Monero
Monero is designed to be mined and powered by your average Joe, meaning the hash rate must remain low enough so that CPU and GPU rigs can still mine. In fact, this is the reason why Monero cryptojacking scripts are so popular. Hackers can mine a relatively valuable altcoin by simply stealing a tiny portion of someone’s computing power. As the hash rate plummets after the hard fork, miners will get more bang for their buck, so get ready to boot up your machines and start mining Monero.
No New Upgrades Coming
This is the fourth Monero hard fork to occur in the past 365 days, but this time it won’t contain any other additional upgrades to the network. Back in October – during the last Monero hard fork – the Monero developers added in an upgrade named BulletProof. This upgrade was designed to slash transaction fees and make using the Monero network more feasible. Fees fell by 96% in the weeks following the hard fork, a clear sign of success from BulletProof. However, this new hard fork won’t contain any upgrades and will simply update the proof of work algorithm to ensure Monero remains as ASIC resistant as possible.
Monero Making Waves Around the Globe
At the start of the year, the Fortnite merch store started accepting Monero as a method of payment. It’s well known that Tim Sweeney – Epic Games CEO – is a fan of crypto, so the news came as the next logical step for the gaming franchise. Yet, it turns out that accepting Monero was an accident and that it wasn’t planned step at all. While it has since been removed from the merch store, thousands of gamers from around the globe used Monero to pay for Fortnite merchandise.
The upcoming hard fork might cause some slight issues on the day, but as the network settles down transactions should go back to normal. As the hash rate plummets, mining will become more profitable for Monero miners – so consider using your computer to mine some Monero while you sleep.
