This cryptocurrency is one of the oldest along with bitcoin and lightcoin. Appeared in 2013.
The coin is unique in its own way, as it uses special cryptographic principles and is controlled by a decentralized market of miners.
It is true that the basic principle of operation was taken from Satoshi Nakamoto.
From the history of Primecoin
At the time of the project’s inception, there were essentially only two leading cryptocurrencies – bitcoin and litecoin.
But the problem was that it was already quite difficult and costly in terms of capital investment to extract them.
Naturally, the emergence in 2013 of an alternative in the form of Primecoin found its admirers. But even that’s not what attracts such interest in the coin. The point is that, unlike bitcoin, in primecoin, calculations are made not only to confirm transactions, put them on the blockchain and maintain the security of the network. Calculations are also used for scientific purposes, as will be discussed below.
Main features, Primecoin technology
Primecoin has a number of important features that you should pay attention to.
First of all, the confirmation system in the bitcoin network is based on hashes created using the SHA-256 algorithm.
The search for solutions, as mentioned above, is solely focused on keeping the network up and running.
Primecoin has useful calculations in the process. The confirmation system is based on Cunningham’s long chain search.
In terms of blockchain creation speed, primecoin has a clear advantage here. BTC protocols are set up so that each block appears no more than once every 10 minutes. XPM has a rate of 1 block per minute, which is 10 times faster.
Looking at transaction confirmation, Primecoin is also ahead of the first cryptocurrency, and by about as much as the system is faster at creating new blocks. The change in difficulty is smoother than in bitcoin, where the figure changes every 2016 blocks. In Primecoin, the complexity changes every minute.
Proof-of-work in Primecoin not only secures the network, but also generates a special form of prime number chains of interest for mathematical research.
Finally, Primecoin does not have an issuance limit. On the one hand, this is a disadvantage, as there is no deflationary scheme. On the other hand, many are now arguing about what would happen if most of the coins were lost (as we know, the bitcoin network would end up with several million fewer units rather than 21,000,000 units).
Capitalization of XPM cryptocurrency
Primecoin cryptocurrency is referred to as XPM on exchange listings.
On the first day of trading, market capitalization reached $54,274.
In the same year, 2013, it grew to $10 million. Then came a long-term correction that ended in 2017.
Primecoin cryptocurrency mining
Unlike bitcoin, Primecoin does not use a hash system in the process of mining a new block. Instead, useful calculations are applied.
To create new blocks, the computer performs calculations of varying complexity. That said, the numbers themselves, which are used in the calculation process, do not appear randomly. They are of some interest to the scientific community.
Accordingly, mining new Primecoin (XPM) is not only about ensuring the activity and protection of the network, but also about contributing to the world’s science.
Given that bitcoin and Primecoin have different computations, the former uses video cards and asics, while the latter uses a CPU.
Advantages and disadvantages
Pros:
- Mining is done through the power of the CPU rather than expensive graphics cards or asics.
- Cryptocurrency is one of the oldest and is in some demand in investor circles.
- New Primecoin mining is linked to useful calculations for science. Each user contributes in some way to the development of world science.
- Higher speed of transactions and their confirmation compared to bitcoin. The block formation time is about 1 minute.
- Smoother changes in the complexity of the mining algorithm, which is recalculated every minute.
- A different formula for calculating the reward than bitcoin, which takes into account the benefit brought by the miner.
Minuses:
- There is no information about the project team. All that is known is that XPM was developed by cryptography expert Sunny King.
- The project lacks defined objectives. Making calculations for science is a positive thing, but the project does not set itself any other tasks.
- Despite the relative simplicity of mining, it is not profitable to mine primecoin on your own. The user will still have to seek the services of various pools.
