After seeing just how much wolf0 was able to optimize the CPU I realized just how much a few miners with properly optimized code could dominate. And if I was:
1. Someone who only care about definite profit, I could get such a miner and dump for more than it costs me to mine.
2. If I was a competing coin, I could keep the price of the coin deflated.
I think whoever can "steal" electricity (i.e.: free electricity) can do more damage than optimized miner. Every Sat is profit.
Not if the unadulterated miner is several, likely dozens of times more efficient.
While people have the ability to do these things, it does go against the grain. Avoiding pools on the one hand, having optimized miners take advantage of the solo miners on the other.
Why is this only a problem for SPR?
Couldn't I optimize my mining software to mine DRK more efficiently, then take my new miner to a pool and mine DRK?
Yes. 100%.
But, what's the point of having a USP of solo mining, when there is the ability to optimize the miner and create centralization by other means?
Centralization doesn't just mean control by pools. The notion of mining as Satoshi had intended was raised early on. Well Satoshi also asked for mining through consensus of a gentleman's agreement to play fair.
The average total coins generated across the network per day stays the same. Faster machines just get a larger share than slower machines. If everyone bought faster machines, they wouldn't get more coins than before.
We should have a gentleman's agreement to postpone the GPU arms race as long as we can for the good of the network. It's much easer to get new users up to speed if they don't have to worry about GPU drivers and compatibility. It's nice how anyone with just a CPU can compete fairly equally right now.
I have no issue with anyone using their skills to make what they can. I have no issue with anyone gloating that they used their skills to earn a profit.
But you can't promote fair solo mining, when mining is, in reality, anything but fair.
A solution to both pools and optimized mining should be proposed. Otherwise, its a nil sum game over mining with pools.