Primecoin
Cryptocurrency based on prime numbers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Primecoin (Abbreviation: XPM) is a cryptocurrency that implements a proof-of-work system that searches for chains of prime numbers.[2][3]
Primecoin logo | |
| Denominations | |
|---|---|
| Plural | Primecoin, primecoins |
| Nickname | XPM |
| Subunits | |
| 0.001 | mXPM (millicoin) |
| 0.000001 | μXPM (microcoin) |
| 0.00000001 | Smallest unit |
| Demographics | |
| Official user | International |
| Administration | |
| Issuing authority | None, the primecoin peer-to-peer network regulates and distributes through consensus in protocol.[citation needed] |
| Date of introduction | 7 July 2013[1] |
| Inflation_rate | Limited release, production rate before this limit re-evaluated with the production of every block (at a rate of approximately 1 block per minute) based on the difficulty with which primecoins are produced.[citation needed] |
Primecoin was launched in July 7, 2013 by Sunny King, who also founded Peercoin.[4][5]
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, which are mined using algorithms that solved mathematical problems with no extrinsic value, mining Primecoin involves producing chains of prime numbers (Cunningham and bi-twin chains). These are useful to scientists and mathematicians and meet the requirements for a proof of work system of being hard to compute but easy to verify and having an adjustable difficulty.[6][1][4][7][5][8]
Shortly after its launch, some trade journals reported that the rush of over 18,000 new users seeking to mine Primecoin overwhelmed providers of dedicated servers.[1][9] It was ranked as being one of the top ten currencies before 2014.[10]
Primecoin has a block time of one minute, changes difficulty every block, and has a block reward that is a function of the difficulty.[4][8]
