Scrypt is a memory-hard function that Litecoin adopted for its proof of work in 2011. Litecoin, Dogecoin and a family of smaller coins still use it, and a single Scrypt ASIC can earn several of them at once through merged mining. This page is a map: it explains the idea in a few lines and points to the detailed pages.
What Scrypt is
Scrypt was designed in 2009 for password hashing, and its defining feature is that it needs a lot of memory as well as processing. Miners use it by hashing block candidates until one falls below the network's difficulty target. The Scrypt algorithm explained covers how it works and how it differs from SHA-256. See also proof of work and mining difficulty.
The coins
Litecoin and Dogecoin are the two big ones. Others that use Scrypt include Luckycoin, Bellscoin, Dingocoin and Junkcoin. They are separate blockchains with separate teams, linked by a shared algorithm and, for many, by merge mining. The Scrypt coin family lists every coin with its history and sources. Live prices are on Scrypt Price.
Merged mining
With merged mining, one stream of Scrypt hashes is submitted to a parent chain, Litecoin or Dogecoin, and to every compatible auxiliary chain at no extra hashing cost. That is why one miner can earn Litecoin, Dogecoin and other coins together. Read merged mining explained or the AuxPoW definition.
The miners
Scrypt mining is done on dedicated ASICs. The Scrypt Calculator estimates daily income, electricity cost and break-even electricity price for each one, using live network data. Popular starting points:
- Antminer L9 and Antminer L7
- ElphaPex DG2 and DG Home 1, for smaller setups
- VolcMiner D1 and Fluminer L1 Pro
- Compare miners head to head
Estimates are projections from current network data, not payouts. Pool luck, uptime and price changes decide what you actually receive. How profitability is calculated lists the formulas and sources, and mining pools explained covers how payouts work.
Where to keep the coins
Mining rewards arrive at an address you choose. Scrypt Wallet is a free wallet for Android and the web with pages for Litecoin, Dogecoin, Luckycoin, Bellscoin and Dingocoin and Soqucoin. Create an account, open Receive and copy the address to use as your pool payout address. Back up your recovery information before you put real money in.
Next steps: best Scrypt miners and how to start Scrypt mining.