ASIC

An Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) refers to computing hardware specially built for a distinct purpose, such as Proof of Work mining. By specially designing the hardware, ASICs can be dramatically more efficient at running a particular algorithm or task, such as SHA256 or other Proof of Work tasks. While ASICs can be a natural consequence of mining incentives, the introduction of ASIC computing can sometimes crowd out regular users from participating in network services in a meaningful way.