AsicBoost is hypothetically an easy 20% win for any miner to implement, but it&#x27;s patent encumbered, so there&#x27;s now an attempt [1] by the core developers to fork Bitcoin in order to nullify its effect.<p>Why fight it? Not just because it&#x27;s patented. The bigger fear is that because it&#x27;s patented, no one in the US will be able (willing?) to implement it, while folks in other countries with lax enforcement of IP laws (read: China) will. Since mining is a competitive race, a 20% boost should ensure only patent infringers will ever mine blocks.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lists.linuxfoundation.org&#x2F;pipermail&#x2F;bitcoin-dev&#x2F;2016-May&#x2F;012652.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lists.linuxfoundation.org&#x2F;pipermail&#x2F;bitcoin-dev&#x2F;2016...</a>