This algorithm has been dubbed “the last stand against ASIC mining” due to its resistance to specialized hardware.
But what exactly is Blake 2s and why should you care? Let’s get started with this cryptographic hash function that’s causing quite the buzz in the crypto community.
To kick things off, how it works. Blake 2s is a simplified version of its big brother, Blake 2b, which was designed for larger platforms like CPUs and GPUs. It uses a sponge construction with two parallel compression functions to produce a fixed-size output. The algorithm has a variable input length and can be used as a message digest or a stream cipher.
Now that we’ve got the technical stuff out of the way, why Blake 2s is so special. Unlike other algorithms like SHA-3 or MD5, which have been cracked by ASIC miners, Blake 2s has managed to hold its ground against specialized hardware. This is due to its design, which makes it more difficult for ASIC manufacturers to optimize their chips for this algorithm.

But don’t get too excited just yet, because there are still some limitations to consider. While Blake 2s may be resistant to ASIC mining, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. In fact, there have been reports of FPGA miners being able to outperform GPUs on this algorithm. So if you’re looking for a truly ASIC-resistant coin, you might want to consider something like Verge or Shield, which use multiple algorithms including Blake 2s.
That said, Blake 2s is still worth considering if you’re in the market for a GPU miner. It offers faster speeds and lower power consumption than other popular algorithms like Ethash or Equihash. Plus, it has a smaller memory footprint, making it ideal for low-end GPUs.
So how can you get started with Blake 2s mining? Well, there are several miners available that support this algorithm, including CCMiner and PhoenixMiner. Both of these miners offer excellent performance on NVIDIA cards, but may not be as efficient on AMD hardware.
In terms of coins to mine using Blake 2s, you’ve got a few options. Verge (XVG) is the most popular choice due to its large community and active development team. Shield (XSH) is another option that uses multiple algorithms including Blake 2s. However, both of these coins are considered “multi-algorithm” coins, meaning they use other hashing functions as well.
If you’re looking for a more traditional Blake 2s coin, there are still some options available. Tajcoin (TAJ) and Infocoin are two lesser-known projects that use this algorithm exclusively. However, both of these coins have been around for several years and haven’t seen much development in recent times.