It doesn't really matter if the equihash coins fork or not.
In the long run we are all fucked. By all I mean small to medium mining operation owners.
As long as there is serious money in the game do you really think that the powers that be will let us regular folk have our share?
This leaves me wondering what in the hell are we trying to accomplish with crypto currencies anyway.
"Decentralized" is just another nice sounding word, same as democracy. It's a dream, an illusion.
One thing is clear: zcash was launched with an ASIC resistant ideology. Now zcash says it didn't mean that.
What changed? MONEY
The rest is just noise.
Yes, but there are trolls everywhere saying Asics are good to mining and cryptos
Small, medium miners will lose
Programmers will lose (claymore and others)
average joe will lose
gamers will lose ( yes, gamers are mining to )
Bitmain will profit
Big Farms will profit
Period
ASIC is better for PoW. Its more efficient, focused, and can be less taxing power wise with certain algos. I cant honestly say these will have the same effect as say their SHA-256 BTC line. They are needed in bulk, they push almost 1300w per unit and are a drain on resources. These machines dont do that, they are being sold in limit, and they are just flat out more efficient and a better buy then building gpu rigs. What we real;ly need, is more manufacturers. More companies will drive price down and the average joe can buy them. Thats the only thing stopping it. Nothing is wrong with ASIC technology. Its a product of evolution. I mean hating a computer sounds really stupid if you think about it. Its just a microchip. Whats wrong is a 1 company owning the majority share, that company no being regulated as such, and them being able to set up shop before anywhere else. People cry about regulation, but thats what regulation helps protect. Double edged sword. Thats the issue. I cant see how you can set two rigs side by side (asic and gpu) and say one is ruining the blockchain, while one isnt. Also, those Claymore guys can cry me a river lol. They deserve to get paid, but what they are getting paid is miles ahead of the work they put in. They are pulling in serious cash. Its a gross over payment of services.