What is ProgPoW?
ProgPoW is short for Programmatic Proof-of-Work ("programmable proof of work"), and sometimes the comic version of PorgyPoW (from the name of the Porgi birds from the fifth episode of Star Wars: The Last Jedi) is also used - this is an updated version of the Ethash consensus algorithm.
What is the purpose of ProgPoW?
The ProgPoW algorithm is designed to increase the efficiency of mining using a CPU / GPU and increase its advantages in the competition with mining on ASIC devices.
Distribution of ASIC devices potentially threatens:
- a drop in the income of CPU / GPU owners and a decrease in their motivation to maintain the network;
- manipulation of the protocol by large miners;
- centralization of mining.
With the advent and spread of ASIC devices, developers began to create new iterations of the original PoW algorithm (“proof of work”) designed to be “ASIC-resistant”.
Creating an algorithm protected from equipment with selected optimal characteristics has always been a difficult task. The Ethash algorithm used in Ethereum mining was also developed as ASIC-stable, but it turned out to be inefficient.
Who, when and how developed ProgPoW?
ProgPoW was created in 2018 by members of the ifdefelse development team: Miss If (Christie Lee-Mineshan, aka OhGodAGirl), Mr. Else (aka RadixPi) and Mr. Def.
The impetus for the development of ProgPoW was the discussion of ASIC-sustainability on the Internet in March 2018. The Ethereum developer, nicknamed Pipermerriam, published EIP958 (Ethereum Improvement Proposal, “Ethereum Improvement Proposal”), designed to make Ethash ASIC-resistant.
The development process accelerated the start of sales of Antminer E3, an ASIC miner working with the Ethash algorithm. Although it later became clear that the Antminer E3 was a rather raw device, critical moods towards ASIC resilience began to build up among users.
In April 2018, Ethereum developer Vlad Zamfir conducted a survey “Do you support the hard fork that will make ASIC miners ineffective”. 57% of respondents spoke in favor of a hard fork.
Around the same time, as part of EIP 969, it was proposed to change Ethash.
These two EIPs, ongoing discussions regarding ASIC resilience, and the fact that approximately a thousand people voted on ASIC resilience on GitHub in 2018, prompted IfDefElse members to start developing a truly resilient, specialized hardware algorithm.
Technical Features ProgPoW
ProgPoW is an optimized Ethash. Within the framework of this algorithm, each iteration in the search for a solution to the problem (internal memory access cycle) is a randomly generated program based on the block number. Such a working model requires the full use of GPU resources and its potential (with the exception of floating point operations and graphic pipelines, which had to be abandoned in order for the algorithm to be suitable for equipment from different manufacturers).
ProgPoW makes the task condition for mining unstable - the ASIC miner is able to perform only one specific task, as its name indicates, “specialized integrated circuit”, and therefore is not flexible enough to work with ProgPoW. Unlike ASIC, the GPU is able to quickly adapt to the constantly changing conditions of the task for mining. The use of ProgPoW allows the GPU to achieve performance indicators comparable to those of the ASIC.
Criticism of ProgPoW and Current Status
In 2018, the opposition of ProgPoW was moderate because ASIC resilience remained an important goal for the Ethereum community.
In September 2018, Linzhi Mining announced the release of an effective ASIC device for Ethash. The company took an extremely hostile stance against ProgPoW and even claimed to be capable of developing ASICs for ProgPoW. There were rumors that ProgPoW was created by two major GPU manufacturers - AMD and Nvidia.
At the beginning of 2019, Ethereum users began voting on ProgPoW. By April 2019, 93% of respondents who control 2.93 million ETH supported ProgPoW. The Ethereum development team several times agreed with their opinions, and then changed their position. In the end, it was decided to implement ProgPoW on the condition that the new algorithm be audited. The audits were successful, and in January, the developers tentatively agreed on the ProgPoW proposal (EIP-1057).
On February 21, 2020, the developers agreed that the activation of the code will tentatively take place in July.
On February 24, Vitalik Buterin expressed bewilderment at the fact that ProgPoW, once pushed on the shelf until better times, reappeared on the agenda and is even considered for inclusion in the next Ethereum hard fork.
On February 27, 2020, a number of well-known representatives of the Ethereum community signed a petition calling for refusal to activate ProgPoW. They consider this proposal to be hasty, and potentially even capable of leading to a split in the network. According to them, there is currently no necessary support for adopting ProgPoW.
However, Ethereum developer James Hancock is convinced that a split is unlikely. Moreover, he believes that ProgPoW is one of the “most prepared” proposals for activation. Martin Svende of the Ethereum Foundation, who also insists on the advisability of activation, agrees with him.
According to Christie Lee-Minehan and Vitalik Buterin, the cause of serious controversy that has arisen in the community in connection with the new algorithm is the “lack of communication”.
The vulnerability identified in March 4, 2020 in ProgPoW launched a new round of discussion.
By now, Ethereum users seem tired of the discussions over the years. Vitalik Buterin said that he "will be satisfied with any decision."
