Primecoin

{{Short description|Cryptocurrency based on prime numbers}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{infobox cryptocurrency

| image_1 = Primecoin Logo.png

| image_title_1 = Primecoin logo

| code =

| image_width_1 = 150

| issuing_authority = None, the primecoin peer-to-peer network regulates and distributes through consensus in protocol.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

| date_of_introduction = 7 July 2013

| date_of_introduction_source =

| using_countries = International

| inflation_rate = Limited release, production rate before this limit re-evaluated with the production of every block (at a rate of approximately 1 block per minute) based on the difficulty with which primecoins are produced.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

| inflation_source_date =

| inflation_method =

| symbol =

| nickname = XPM

| subunit_ratio_1 = 0.001

| subunit_name_1 = mXPM (millicoin)

| subunit_ratio_2 = 0.000001

| subunit_name_2 = μXPM (microcoin)

| subunit_ratio_3 = 0.00000001

| subunit_name_3 = Smallest unit

| plural = Primecoin, primecoins

| plural_subunit_1 =

| plural_subunit_2 =

| frequentl

}}

Primecoin (Abbreviation: XPM) is a cryptocurrency that implements a proof-of-work system that searches for chains of prime numbers.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wCACwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Primecoin%22&pg=PA187 | isbn=978-1-78528-615-5 | title=Learning Bitcoin | date=30 October 2015 | publisher=Packt Publishing }}{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gEn8EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Primecoin%22&pg=PA80 | isbn=978-1-009-02815-8 | title=Cryptoeconomics: Economic Mechanisms Behind Blockchains | date=28 February 2024 | publisher=Cambridge University Press }}

Primecoin was launched in 2013 by Sunny King, who also founded Peercoin.

Unlike other cryptocurrencies, which are mined using algorithms that solved mathematical problems with no extrinsic value, mining Primecoin involves producing chains of prime numbers (Cunningham and bi-twin chains). These are useful to scientists and mathematicians and meet the requirements for a proof of work system of being hard to compute but easy to verify and having an adjustable difficulty.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-16 |title=Exploring Primecoin: An Alternative Cryptocurrency Project - Codemotion |url=https://www.codemotion.com/magazine/backend-dev/blockchain-dev/primecoin-cryptocurrency/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Codemotion Magazine |language=en-US}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=erMQBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |title=Understanding Bitcoin: Cryptography, Engineering and Economics |last=Franco |first=Pedro |date=21 October 2018 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-01914-5 |location=Chichester, West Sussex, UK |pages=175–76 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117190848/https://books.google.com/books?id=erMQBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |archive-date=17 November 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Research+issues+regarding+the+Bitcoin+and+Alternative+Coins+digital...-a0484156869 |title=Research issues regarding the Bitcoin and Alternative Coins digital currencies. |last1=Pirjan |first1=Alexandru |last2=Petrosanu |first2=Dana-Mihaela |year=2015 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com |publisher=Romanian-American University via Gale |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117191126/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Research+issues+regarding+the+Bitcoin+and+Alternative+Coins+digital...-a0484156869 |archive-date=17 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=17 November 2018 |last3=Huth |first3=Mihnea |last4=Negoita |first4=Mihaela}}{{cite news |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bitcoin-vies-with-new-cryptocurrencies-as-coin-of-the-cyber-realm/ |title=Bitcoin Vies with New Cryptocurrencies as Coin of the Cyber Realm |last=Peck |first=Morgen E. |date=29 April 2014 |work=Scientific American |access-date=17 November 2018 |language=en}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/28/bitcoin-alternatives-future-currency-investments |title=Nine Bitcoin alternatives for future currency investments |last=Gibbs |first=Samuel |date=28 November 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en |access-date=17 November 2018}}

Shortly after its launch, some trade journals reported that the rush of over 18,000 new users seeking to mine Primecoin overwhelmed providers of dedicated servers.{{cite news |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/16/digitalocean_primecoin_cloud_problems/ |title=Virtual currency speculators shut down cloud |last=Clark |first=Jack |date=16 July 2013 |work=The Register |access-date=17 November 2018}}{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Rich |date=17 December 2013 |title=Currency Miners Cause Spot Shortages of Dedicated Servers |work=Data Center Knowledge |url=http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/12/17/currency-miners-cause-spot-shortages-dedicated-servers/ |access-date=18 December 2013}} It was ranked as being one of the top ten currencies before 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ginaclarke/2018/10/16/proof-of-stake-guru-sunny-king-blockchain-is-easy-we-just-need-to-use-it-like-a-database/|title= Proof-Of-Stake Guru Sunny King: "Blockchain Is Easy - We Just Need To Use It Like A Database"

|website=Forbes|date=October 16, 2018|author=Gina Clarke|access-date=August 2, 2024}}

Primecoin has a block time of one minute, changes difficulty every block, and has a block reward that is a function of the difficulty.