Quote from: coins101 on April 16, 2017, 10:37:09 PM

The current free market approach doesn't work.

Quote from: coins101 on April 16, 2017, 10:37:09 PM

We could have another unique feature that improves the security of the network, just by giving miners cheap miners they can buy, which are also cheap to run.

If the SPR network reaches sufficient value, the free market is going to take those cheap miners and resell them on eBay for x10 what you sold them for. If the free market deems the value of those miners to be much higher than the price you sell them for, they WILL be sold at that much higher price. Only difference is whether you think that extra cash is better off in your bank account (and funding HLM development) or in the hands of resellers.

Not only that, but if there is sufficient demand, it is only a matter of time until someone else comes along and designs their own chips and miners.

Quote from: coins101 on April 16, 2017, 10:37:09 PM

If you want a secure network you need a large hash rate, but it has to be distributed. We're looking at how we can influence decentralization through releasing cheap ASICs and possibly limiting distribution on a regional basis to prevent small groups buying up large quantities.

Mining will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS centralize to a degree, no matter how much you try to fight it. You won't win if you try to battle the economics of scale.

Quote from: coins101 on April 16, 2017, 10:37:09 PM

But the one consistent issue with ASICs is that they take time to design. So it is worth starting the process sooner rather than later - I don't think that's putting the cart before the horse, it's planning ahead.

ASICs take time AND money to design. I say it is putting the cart before the horse because HLM needs to prove it is economically viable enough to develop ASICs for before such an investment would be wise.

Quote from: Gladimor on April 17, 2017, 12:31:10 AM

The biggest issue I see with starting off with ASIC mining would be the illusion of centralized mining- as the ability to create the mining hardware would be in the hands of a central group. That argument would be fuel for many individuals.

If Helium reached an appropriate valuation, we could see the entry of larger and specialized ASIC companies into the scene. What's to stop them from developing a much more effective chip? The main strategy I see towards a decentralized mining network would be to deploy an algorithm that is memory intensive- or any specification that renders ASICs obsolete. An algorithm that is GPU friendly would be much more viable as it allows everyone in on the game from the start. The network would be truly decentralized, with no group with the "key" to mining in the beginning.

If you want to select an algorithm that is both GPU and ASIC friendly, X11 would definitely be viable. ASICs hashing X11 were released last year by small manufacturers, and the hardware is already spread amongst many miners.

If decentralization is the mantra of HLM, then as Gladimor said you should choose a memory intensive algorithm like DaggerHashimoto or Equihash. You shouldn't be worried about developing ASICs for HLM, you should be worried about preventing ASICs for HLM!

In my opinion, I would NOT recommend X11. It's GPU and ASIC friendly now, but that won't last long. We are still on the first generation of X11 ASICs. Once generation 2 rolls around, GPUs won't be able to compete.

Also, can anyone name a successful SHA-256 or Scrypt coin that isn't Bitcoin or Litecoin (or merge mined with BTC or LTC)? People invest in ASICs to mine the main coin associated with them, and DASH is pretty much THE X11 coin. A lot of miners end up only mining the smaller coins when their profitability is higher than the main coin, and then immediately dump them. If HLM uses X11, you are gonna get a lot of DASH miners only mining it when the profitability is high and repeatedly dumping HLM into oblivion.

I say just use one of the plethora of lesser known GPU algorithms out there (NIST5, Lyra2RE, etc.) and call it a day. HLM can start off as a GPU-only coin but the possibility of ASICs down the road won't necessarily be ruled out.

Quote from: Nikolaj on April 17, 2017, 06:17:39 PM

A direct feed of ASIC from the developer of the coin has some pretty evident and potentially harmful consequences, like the devs centralization of hashing power.

Another good point. A coin can't be decentralized if the devs are controlling the flow of mining equipment!