Can ASIC miners mine cryptocurrencies?

Each ASIC miner can only be used to mine one kind of cryptocurrency. This wouldn't be too much of an issue for those who mine various coins if ASIC miners were cheap, but, in reality, they're anything but. This is where ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies can be of aid.

Is a cryptocurrency ASIC-resistant?

When a cryptocurrency is ASIC-resistant, its protocol and mining algorithm are designed to be far less susceptible to ASIC mining. This isn't to say that these cryptos are impossible to mine with ASICs. Rather, it's just much harder and often a waste of time and money.

What are ASIC-resistant coins?

ASIC-resistant coins, as the name suggests, are cryptocurrencies with ASIC-resistant algorithms. Their ecosystem is built in a way that disables users to mine coins with ASIC machines. Therefore, mining these cryptocurrencies with ASICs is nearly impossible.

Why is bitcoin so difficult to mine?

Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, envisioned a scenario of increased Bitcoin mining difficulty when more mining devices plug into the network. With the growing number of powerful mining devices, miners are incentivized to invest in ASIC hardware to give them the highest chance of successfully mining a block.