

Ask HN: Why do all cryptocurrencies have similar mining-based strategies?  - slake

Aren&#x27;t there other strategies that would introduce new currency? Let&#x27;s say some philanthropy gives you new currency. Or some contribution to wiki leaks does. Or in the crypto world discovering new solutions to useful difficult problems would reward you.
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jabgrabdthrow
The problem with the solutions you suggested is that there is no easy
automatic trustless mechanism for demonstrating proof-of-work. Edit: Of
course, if you don't mind some centralization/trust, then your suggestions
could theoretically work.

One altcoin called primecoin has a proof-of-work algorithm which finds long
runs of prime numbers, which is supposedly useful for some purposes.

The most common alternative to proof-of-work mining is called proof-of-stake,
which is used in a few altcoins (most notably Peercoin). It still doesn't
provide anything useful, but at least it provides a mechanism for securing the
blockchain without wasting a bunch of energy. You can read about it here:
[https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Proof_of_Stake](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Proof_of_Stake)

