To achieve asic resistance, why not switch between a large pool of different algorithms sequentially, with their order and various parameters determined by the hash of the previous block?
As TFA points out no matter how ASIC-resistant you try to make your PoW algorithm you're just delaying the inevitable. If any of these cryptocurrencies actually manages to become the currency of the future the incentive to increase the hash-rate-per-kW by a few percents to be worth it.
Having a pool of different algorithms might improve the difficulty but it will also make it tricky to audit all algorithms for vulnerabilities. On top of that an ASIC might not have to implement all algorithms, they could idle and only spring into action when an algorithm they implement is selected for instance.
The main point of the article stands, no matter how complicated you make your algorithm a special-purpose solution will always be more efficient than a general-purpose one, it's just a matter of balancing the cost of developing the ASIC vs. the expected return.
If, as the article points out, developing chips for minor cryptocurrencies using ASIC-resistant PoW is cost-effective I can't imagine how anybody could hope to design as ASIC-resistant cryptocurrency designed to become the currency of the future. Think about it, in the unlikely scenario where a PoW cryptocoin eventually replaces the dollar the mining rewards will quickly amount to billions of dollars. The incentive to get an edge, no matter how small, would be tremendous.
An alternative scheme would be to change the change the PoW algorithm regularly like the article says Monero is doing, but then you give a huge amount of power to the people selecting the next PoW. Consider how incredibly tempting it would be to develop an ASIC for some PoW algorithm and then have it selected by Monero, you'd have a huge head start.
You could make one asic that supports all algorithms, and re-uses parts that overlap, or you could even create one asic per algorithm. This substantially increases the amount of design effort required, which puts it rather out of reach for smaller companies. But Bitmain could easily pull together a design effort of that scale, so they are even further advantaged there.
Based on the article, it wouldn’t be difficult to design an ASIC that handles multiple algorithms and accepts parameters for each.
For mining chip manufacturers the gamble of choosing a few algorithms to support, especially if constraints are promised at the start of the PoW launch, can have favorable odds. There’s only so many PoW algorithms from which to choose.
The entire point of cryptocurrencies is to be decentralized, that's the key innovation. As long as I trust the overall system, I need not trust any one individual. If you're using a cryptocurrency that's centrally controlled you might as well use a fiat currency, at least those are in theory regulated.
When it comes to ASICs, it's very difficult for you or me to buy them outside the US or China. Someone wanting to set up a mining farm with 500 of them can probably arrange something, but if I want to buy just one here in Iceland, I'm screwed. No one ships single ASICs to Iceland for a sane shipping fee. Most won't ship them outside the US at all.
As a result, almost all the hashpower in bitcoin is coming from the US or China, and from the rest of the worlds perspective that's not good. It is /definitely/ within the Chinese governments power to seize all of bitmains strategic reserve of chips and use them to perform a 51% attack on bitcoin.
The benefit of ASIC resistance is that it forces everyone down to graphics cards or at least FPGA boards, and both of those can be bought over the counter in any western country, so it spreads the hashing out geographically, which is desirable from a resilience standpoint. If ASICs were widely available it would be a different matter, but since they aren't, it's overall better to force them out of the game for now.
Doesn't it achieve opposite effect? All smaller, non ASIC resistant currencies can be bullied by someone with a lot of (rented) PCs. Ignore 51% attack, just sudden changes in difficulty & time between blocks would introduce chaos.
ASICs are specialized equipment which usually costs a lot. That leads to centralization, which is not something you want for a cryptocoin. Just look at bitcoin with their four people controlling a majority of hashpower.
Resisting single-chip ASICs, by large (on the order of a GB) memory requirements, may be desirable in promoting the use of commodity memory chips, which would account for most of the power consumption and hardware cost, leaving the ASIC tying the memory chips together much simpler, and running much cooler.
The majority of miners are not a lot more than hobbyists. I am, too. They prefer GPU mining because they know GPUs better than ASICs and because GPUs are more flexible than ASICs. The barrier of entrance to mining is lower.
Additionally, imagine you bought GPUs. Then of course you are going to oppose to changes destroying the profitability of your GPUs. If you then read about someone writing about ASICs fostering centralisation, you'll be inclined to approve such statements.
However ironically it has been shown that quite possibly GPU mining is more prone to centralisation attacks than ASIC mining.
Having a pool of different algorithms might improve the difficulty but it will also make it tricky to audit all algorithms for vulnerabilities. On top of that an ASIC might not have to implement all algorithms, they could idle and only spring into action when an algorithm they implement is selected for instance.
The main point of the article stands, no matter how complicated you make your algorithm a special-purpose solution will always be more efficient than a general-purpose one, it's just a matter of balancing the cost of developing the ASIC vs. the expected return.
If, as the article points out, developing chips for minor cryptocurrencies using ASIC-resistant PoW is cost-effective I can't imagine how anybody could hope to design as ASIC-resistant cryptocurrency designed to become the currency of the future. Think about it, in the unlikely scenario where a PoW cryptocoin eventually replaces the dollar the mining rewards will quickly amount to billions of dollars. The incentive to get an edge, no matter how small, would be tremendous.
An alternative scheme would be to change the change the PoW algorithm regularly like the article says Monero is doing, but then you give a huge amount of power to the people selecting the next PoW. Consider how incredibly tempting it would be to develop an ASIC for some PoW algorithm and then have it selected by Monero, you'd have a huge head start.