Performance Evaluation of Orange Pi 4 in SHA256 Computation for Blockchain Mining

Abstract

This article presents a study on the performance of microprocessors, specifically focusing on the case of Orange Pi 4, in the computation of SHA256, a cryptographic hash function used in Blockchain. The study aims to evaluate the performance of microprocessors like Orange Pi 4, to mine blocks and perform cryptographic operations relying on SHA256. The experimental setup includes several test scenarios that vary in the difficulty of the hash function and the size of the data being hashed. Although the study acknowledges its limitations in terms of the limited scenarios analyzed, it provides valuable insights into the performance of Orange Pi 4, in Blockchain mining operations. The performance is evaluated in terms of the time it takes to mine a block,the energy consumption required and the memory usage. The results highlight that Orange Pi 4, can perform SHA256 computations, but their performance is limited compared to dedicated mining hardware. These findings emphasize the need for dedicated mining hardware for high-performance mining tasks. However, the study also highlights the potential for microprocessors like Orange Pi 4, in specific low-power applications that require cryptographic operations with moderate computational requirements.