Skein PoW algorithm – Skein ASIC miner and list of coins based on Skein

There are a large number of Proof of Work algorithms available but not all of the algorithms can be mined by a regular user. The profitability of mining an algorithm / coin depends on the kind of equipment that you intend to use. Some are CPU mineable; some are GPU friendly and some algorithms are only worth mining with ASICs. So before mining it is very important that you understand the hardware behind the algorithms. If you do not research on what to mine you’ll simply end up mining at loss.

The main reason why we started explaining Proof of Work algorithms is because new users can get a better idea of what to mine and what not to. Here we’ll explain one of the old and popular crypto mining algorithm called Skein. So is Skein GPU mineable? If so then what is the best miner for Skein and what are the coins that uses Skein hashing algorithm?

Skein hashing algorithm

Skein is a cryptographic hash function developed by a group of authors in 2008. It is one of the 5 finalist in NIST hash competition conducted to decide the new SHA-3 secure hashing standard. The other hash candidates of this competition are Blake, JH, Grøstl and the winner of this contest is Keccak. Skein is a variable bit algorithm based on Threefish block cipher and is one of the secure and effective hashing algorithm. This algorithm is optimized to use less memory, designed to survive any hash attacks and is optimized for 64-bit processors.

For more information and implementation on Skein algorithm please refer to the following links:

• Bitcoin Wiki: https://en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/Skein
• About Skein hash function family: http://www.skein-hash.info/about
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skein_(hash_function)

Skein is easier to mine, more flexible, faster, secure and is more adoptable to different hardware. This algorithm is three times faster than SHA-256 and it can be mined using CPU and GPU. Yes, Skein algorithm coins were initially mined using CPUs and GPUs. But now there are Skein ASICs available and due to this mining Skein coins using GPU is pointless.

Skein Miners – ASIC & GPU

To prevent mining centralization and to keep the network secure and as distributed as possible few crypto coins implemented multiple mining algorithms. Among this category one of the most popular cryptocurrency is DigiByte. Its blockchain is more scalable, safe, fast, decentralized and is one of the longest chain in existence. DigiByte uses 5 different hashing algorithms namely Scrypt, SHA256, Qubit, Groestl and Skein. Among them the algorithms that was only left for CPU and GPU miners are Skein and Groestl. But months ago ASICs became available for both of these algorithms and as a result regular people can’t mine DigiByte or Skein coins anymore.

Miners for Skein are available for both NVIDIA and AMD. But do note that NVIDIA is miles ahead than AMD and there is an ASIC that is 10 times more faster and efficient than NVIDIA GPU. A single GTX 1080 TI can produce up to 900+ Mh/s on Skein. But this particular ASIC miner called Baikal Miner BK-G28 can hash Skein at 14 Gh/s and at just 300 watts.

Even after this if you are thinking of mining Skein using your GPUs then you can use the following miners.

For NVIDIA the best miner for Skein algorithm is CCMiner Alexis and for AMD you can use SGMiner.

Alright! Lets now see the list of coins that uses Skein proof of work algorithm.

Skein Coins

There are a number of Cryptocurrencies that you can mine with Skein algorithm. The most popular one is DigiByte, then we have Myriad, Aurora coin and the classic Skein coin. There are also many new and not so popular coins based on Skein and following are the complete list.

• DigiByte (DGB) – Multi Algorithm Coin
• Myriad (XMY) – Multi Algorithm Coin
• Auroracoin (AUR) – Multi Algorithm Coin
• Skeincoin (SKC)
• Numus (NMS)
• Unitus (UIS) – Multi Algo Coin
• Global Token (GLT) – Multi Algo
• Deimos (DEI) – Multi-Algo
• Bitcoin Planet (BTPL) – Seems Inactive
• Printex (PRTX) – Seems Inactive
• Argo Cash (ARGO) – Inactive
• BashCoin (BASHC) – Inactive
• Ferrum Coin (FRM) – Inactive
• H2OCoin (H2O) – Inactive
• Lizus coin (LIZ) – Inactive
• TimeCoin (TIMEC) – Inactive
• Ultima (ULT) – Inactive

Note: Most cryptocurrencies that uses Skein are Multi algorithm coins which in addition to Skein uses several other hashing algorithms. Also most coins in the list seems inactive so research thoroughly before you choose a coin to mine. Here we’ll only cover the popular coins, the others we’ll just share the announcement link and we’ll omit all the other dead projects.

DigiByte – DGB

DigiByte is a digital currency and a rapidly growing decentralized payment network inspired by Bitcoin. The blockchain of DigiByte is more secure, provides faster transaction, low fees, highly scalable and is ready for mass adoption. This coin aims to be the most adopted and easy to use digital currency for everyday users.

Announcement: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=408268.0

DigiByte Specifications:

• Max Supply: 21 Billion DGB
• Coin Type: PoW
• PoW algorithms: Sha256, Scrypt, Skein, Groestl & Qubit
• Block Time: 15 Seconds
• Difficulty Adjustment: DigiShield
• Premine: No

Myriad – XMY

Multi Algorithm prevents centralization of mining and it leads to higher security. The first cryptocurrency that implemented multi algorithm is Myriad. Myriad was launched in 2014 and much like Bitcoin; it is decentralized and a community driven project.

Announcement: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=483515.0

Myriad Specifications

• Total Coin Supply: 2 Billion XMY
• Coin Type: PoW
• PoW Algorithm: Scrypt, SHA256D, Yescrypt, Skein and Myriad-Groestl
• Block Time: 1 Minute
• Difficulty Adjustment: Every Block
• Halving Time – Every 96 week (967680 blocks)
• Premine / ICO – No

Auroracoin – AUR

Auroracoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that is designed for people of Iceland. The main purpose of this coin is to provide a means of payment that is secure and easy to use. This project was launched on 2014 and is one of the multi-algo coin that uses Skein hash algorithm.

Announcement: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1467050.0

Auroracoin Specifications:

• Max Coins: 21,00,000
• Coin Type: Multi PoW
• Algorithms: SHA256, Scrypt, Qubit, Groestl, Skein
• Block Time: 61 Seconds
• Initial Block Reward: 2.5 AUR
• Premine: Yes

Skeincoin – SKC

The cryptocurrency Skeincoin was named after the hashing algorithm Skein. In fact it uses Skein-SHA2; the first round is Skein and the second round of hashing is done using SHA256. The aim of this coin is to function as a peer to peer cryptocurrency for micro payments. Some of the other key advantages of Skein coin are low fees and high transaction speed.

Announcement: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2800098.0

Skeincoin Specifications

• Estimated Max Supply: 17 000 000
• Coin Type: PoW
• PoW Hash: Skein-SHA2
• Block Target: 2 Minutes
• Block Reward: 32 SKC, halving every year (262,800 blocks)
• Premine: No

Numus (NMS) – https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2593731.0

Unitus (UIS) – https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4435406.0

Global Token (GLT) – https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5035302

Deimos (DEI) – https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4415365.0

Bitcoin Planet (BTPL) – https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2294719

Printex (PRTX) – https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3755807.0

Aside from this list if you know any cryptocurrency using Skein hashing algorithm then please drop it in the comments below.