BitCash: Efficient Memory Usage & Light CPU Consumption

BitCash thrives on the power of community and peer collaboration. By utilizing minimal memory and ensuring light CPU consumption, it fosters a decentralized ecosystem where individuals and organizations work together to enhance scalability and maintain optimal performance. We are proud to see our community growing, with partners integrating BitCash into their operations, driving innovation and creating value for all participants.

In this document, we explore the system requirements for running a BitCash node with a focus on memory and CPU usage, both for frontend applications and Proof of Work (PoW) mining. We aim to demonstrate how BitCash's lightweight approach offers an efficient and scalable solution for a decentralized financial ecosystem.

1. Frontend Docker Memory

A basic Docker container running a frontend application (e.g., React, Angular, or Vue.js) typically requires between 100 MB and 250 MB of memory. This depends on factors like the size of the app, the complexity of components, and any runtime dependencies.

2. Proof of Work (PoW) Mining Memory

The memory required for PoW mining depends on the difficulty of the mining task. For a **difficulty 4**, the memory requirements will be minimal as the target for hashing is much higher. This would drastically reduce the computational effort required.

3. Bitcoin Difficulty and Difficulty 4

In the context of Bitcoin mining and Proof of Work (PoW), the term "difficulty" refers to the target miners need to meet when hashing a block's data. The difficulty level determines how much computational effort is required to find a valid block hash that is lower than a target value. It is typically expressed as a large number (e.g., 25 trillion) and refers to the "difficulty target" which miners must beat to successfully mine a new block.

**Difficulty 4** is an extremely low level compared to the current Bitcoin network difficulty, which is in the trillions. At this low difficulty, the computational effort required to find a valid block hash would be minimal, and modern consumer hardware would be sufficient for mining.

Understanding Difficulty Level 4

• Bitcoin's Difficulty: In Bitcoin, the difficulty adjusts every 2016 blocks to maintain a constant block time of around 10 minutes. With current difficulty levels (in the trillions), the target is a very small number, meaning miners need to find a hash smaller than this target.
• Difficulty of 4: If the difficulty were set to 4, the target value would be much larger (higher number), making the hashing target much easier to meet. This would drastically reduce the computational effort needed to mine a valid block.

Memory and Computational Resources

• Memory Usage: For difficulty 4, the memory requirements are minimal. Basic computers and personal devices (like laptops or desktops) could mine blocks successfully, with only modest memory usage.
• Computational Power (Hashrate): The computational power required would be small for such a low difficulty. Even typical CPUs or GPUs could solve the Proof of Work puzzle.

Estimated Hardware Requirements for Difficulty 4

• CPU/GPU: A regular CPU (even from a laptop) or GPU would be sufficient for mining.
• Memory (RAM): The memory requirement would be low, likely between 2 GB and 4 GB of RAM.
• Storage: The disk storage required would be more significant (e.g., 500 GB for a full Bitcoin node), but this is unrelated to mining difficulty.

Summary:

• Difficulty 4 is extremely low for PoW mining systems like Bitcoin.
• Basic hardware (CPU or GPU) with 2-4 GB RAM would be sufficient to mine blocks successfully.
• Mining at difficulty 4 would not require specialized hardware like ASIC miners.

4. Docker Overhead

Docker introduces some overhead due to the isolation between containers. While this overhead is generally small, it should be accounted for in the overall memory usage. This overhead is typically between 50 MB and 100 MB.

5. Total Memory Estimate

Based on the above estimates, the total memory required for a Docker container running both a frontend app and PoW mining (difficulty 4) would range from 400 MB to 1.35 GB.