Scrypt

Scrypt is a key derivation function created in 2009 by Colin Percival to protect passwords. Its distinguishing feature is that it requires a lot of memory on top of computing power. Litecoin adopted it at launch in 2011, followed by Dogecoin at the end of 2013, making it one of the major proof-of-work algorithms after SHA-256.

The original idea was to make life harder for specialized chips and keep mining accessible to personal computers. That only lasted for a while: the first Scrypt ASICs appeared as early as 2014. Since then, Litecoin and Dogecoin have been mined together through merged mining: the same work serves both networks, and the miner receives rewards from both, sometimes along with those of other small compatible coins.

The hashrate of Scrypt miners is expressed in MH/s or GH/s (megahashes or gigahashes per second), much lower values than with SHA-256 because each Scrypt hash is more costly. That does not mean a machine is less powerful: hashrates can only be compared for the same algorithm. On a product page, look at the hashrate, the power consumption and the efficiency, as well as the coins supported by the pool you plan to use.

Our Litecoin and Dogecoin collection brings together the Scrypt miners we offer, such as the Antminer L series.