Merged mining is the process of simultaneously mining two or more cryptocurrencies without compromising overall mining speed. In essence, auxiliary proof of work (APW) allows miners to mine blocks on multiple chains simultaneously using their computing power (AuxPoW).
The concept behind AuxPoW is that work completed on one blockchain can be used as legitimate work on another. The parent blockchain is the one that delivers the proof of work, while the auxiliary blockchain is the one that acknowledges it as legitimate.
Every cryptocurrency involved must use the same algorithm in order to execute merged mining. The parent blockchain is hardly impacted because it requires no technical modification. However, the auxiliary blockchain must be configured to accept and receive the work of the parent chain efficiently. Usually, merged mining support must be added or removed by a hard fork.
