> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.xenblocks.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.xenblocks.io/technicals/difficulty/xenblocks-bitcoin-difficulty-comparison.md).

# XenBlocks/Bitcoin difficulty comparison

PoW mining is commonly assumed to be directly linked to computational heavy ASIC mining. This is not always the case which XenBlock mining is proof of. Every mining activity needs some sort of difficulty. For bitcoin the difficulties can be described as algorithmic, electricity and equipment. 

Here's how XenBlocks compares on those three areas. 

| Difficulty      | Bitcoin                                                                                                                                                            | XenBLOCKs                                                                                                                                                                                |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Algorithmic** | <p>Sha256<br>Rules to find hash that everyone needs to follow.</p>                                                                                                 | <p>Argon2  <br>Hashing algorithm used to find XEN11 hashes. </p>                                                                                                                         |
| **Electricity** | <p>Acquiring electricity, a limited resource.</p><p>Sha256 is an old algorithm that isn't optimized for energy efficiency. Growth is coupled with energy use. </p> | The adaptive difficulty adjusts based on network competition, with increased mining difficulty tied to memory allocation. This dependency enables us to decouple growth from energy use. |
| **Equipment**   | That can be used to execute algorithms and consume electricity. Competition leads to specialized hardware (ASIC) being utilized.                                   | Memory hard refers to tying difficulty to memory allocation, making it ASIC-resistant. GPUs are more accessible than ASICs and are not specialized hardware.                             |

\
In most Proof of Work (PoW) networks, the overall hashrate increases as more miners join the network. For instance, as Bitcoin's adoption expands, its total hashrate progressively climbs. However, XenBlocks operates differently, maintaining a constant global hashrate of approximately 10 million hashes per second (h/s). When the network's difficulty level rises, it automatically adjusts by decreasing the hashrate available to each individual miner.

This adjustment means that as the network becomes more crowded with miners and the difficulty escalates, each miner's equipment will consume less power. The rationale is that higher difficulty results in miners' GPUs operating more slowly and at lower temperatures.

This effect is achieved through the use of the Argon2 algorithm, which is designed to lower power consumption as the difficulty increases. Argon2 accomplishes this by relying on memory usage for mining operations. Since memory components require significantly less power to function, increasing difficulty leads to more extensive memory utilization, causing the mining process to become bound by memory input and output rates. As the process slows down due to these constraints, it becomes more power-efficient, consuming fewer watts.


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