Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are integrated circuits designed and built to serve a particular purpose or application. ASICs provide fast computational speed compared with slower, more generalized solutions, such as software solutions running on general-purpose processors or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). As the name implies, ASICs are generally designed to perform only one specific application, resulting in a trade-off between flexibility and computational speed. ASICs are increasing in importance in cryptography-related fields, such as proof-of-work systems, digital rights management systems, and other applications generally having stringent speed and efficiency requirements.