Ken Shirriff writes:
Could an IBM mainframe from the 1960s mine Bitcoin? The idea seemed crazy, so I decided to find out. I implemented the Bitcoin hash algorithm in assembly code for the IBM 1401 and tested it on a working vintage mainframe. It turns out that this computer could mine, but so slowly it would take more than the lifetime of the universe to successfully mine a block. While modern hardware can compute billions of hashes per second, the 1401 takes 80 seconds to compute a single hash. This illustrates the improvement of computer performance in the past decades, most famously described by Moore’s Law.
Beyond raw speed, this experiment highlights how radically computing architectures have evolved, from punch-card driven systems to massively parallel ASIC miners designed specifically for cryptographic workloads. It also shows that early machines, while revolutionary for their time, were never intended for the kind of computational intensity modern blockchain systems demand. If the IBM 1401 were still in production, it would be entirely impractical for any real mining operation today. Still, experiments like this help bridge the gap between historical computing and modern cryptographic understanding in a tangible way. Overall, it emphasizes exponential progress in computing power across decades clearly visible. It also contextualizes why many users today prefer platforms such as low fee crypto exchange Ireland when engaging with digital assets, taking advantage of modern efficiency and more cost-effective trading environments. As interest in digital currencies continues to grow, many newcomers also spend time researching the cheapest crypto to buy as a way to explore affordable entry points into the evolving blockchain ecosystem.
Details at Ken’s blog.
Citation: nouvelle crypto monnaie prometteuse
Hi,
‘Moore’s Law’ stated that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every two years. It did not say anything specifically about computer performance improvements, although a case can be made that you can’t have one without the other.
John
So, instead he should have said “House’s Corollary to Moore’s Law states that *performance* will double roughly every 18 months.” instead… :P