search

Scrypt - RFC 7914

Scrypt is a hashing algorithm used on certain Proof of Work blockchains.

It is a KDF (cryptographic key-derivation function). It is memory-intensive, designed to prevent GPU, ASIC and FPGA attacks.

Some of the advantages and applications of Scrypt are:

  • Less complex in comparison to other mining algorithms

  • Less energy consumption required in comparison to SHA-256 for example.

  • Scrypt mining is four times faster than mining bitcoin

  • Great for encyption wallets, files and passwords

Scrypt is an attempt of improving SHA-256

hashtag
Scrypt Parameters

The Scrypt configuration parameters are as follows:

  • N – iterations count (affects memory and CPU usage), e.g. 16384 or 2048

  • r – block size (affects memory and CPU usage), e.g. 8

  • p – parallelism factor (threads to run in parallel - affects the memory, CPU usage), usually 1

  • password– the input password (8-10 chars minimal length is recommended)

  • salt – securely-generated random bytes (64 bits minimum, 128 bits recommended)

  • derived-key-length - how many bytes to generate as output, e.g. 32 bytes (256 bits)

Scrypt playground: https://8gwifi.org/scrypt.jsp

Scrypt is used within the Litecoin blockchain.

PreviousEthashNextQuestions for self evaluation

Last updated