I've been thinking about mining bitcoin at home. I get it that it's not as profitable as it used to be a few years back, but I really want to try it out as part of my bitcoin journey.
So, what's the deal with mining bitcoin? Do I need to invest in ASICs, or can I just use my regular computer? How does it even work? Is there some website I need to visit to start generating bitcoins?
I'm pretty much a newbie with bitcoin mining, so if anyone could break it down for me or point me to some good tutorials, I'd really appreciate it. I have a lot of questions and I'm eager to learn!
Mining Bitcoin from Home
19 replies 380 views
coldstorageFull Member
Posts: 83 · Reputation: 528
#2Oct 24, 2019, 01:02 AM
Well, 1st start here
As stated in that ^^, BTC mining requires using ASIC-based miners. Period.
Be aware that most miners are very power hungry - as in several kw - and all of that power is transformed into a lot of heat and noise from the fans cooling them. Think a high power space heater.
Because of the power needed you MUST have very low cost electric power, at least 210VAC and it must be stable.
For much quieter/affordable/but slower miners there are the ComPac-F USB sticks from Sidehack
and the faster Futurebit Apollo miner & Node here
Another good place to start is the Beginners & Help section.
yeah a lot depends on your appetite to spend .
you could buy a few bitmain s-19 xp units at 6k each
and you could buy a immersion cooler for 2 k. your cost would be over 15k
but it would be quiet and not need much maintenance .
This would need 210-240 volts and about 60 amps to run.
I would say it would be as much as a home miner would ever spend on mining.
or buy an apollo as linked above. well under 1k
Why not buy the s19/pro-Hydro version instead? It's way more cheaper than buying s19 XP and immersion cooling.
The only downside is that they will release the s19 hyd this December, and the pro version is next year in January.
I don´t want to spend a lot of money, something until 1k will be enough for me. However, I will think about it.
Can someone send me a tutorial (if there is any available) about a cheap mining equipment and how to set up the equipment?
You can use the rather detailed and up-to-date instructions described in the following video, I think after that you will have more understanding in the matter of mining and many questions will disappear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsTOFpGd1aQ
If your purpose is for studying bitcoin mining and you don't want to spend much then go for Compact F USB miner the price of this miner I think is around 100-150$ in Amazon it's pretty cheap and you can find the guide below.
- https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1764803.0
ASICs are needed. Otherwise you are not mining. You are just playing some games, which would be completly legit. You could mine with your CPU just to experiment.
If you don't have access to cheap/free electricity and intend to run a little mining farm, just don't mine. Unfortunately circumstances would be not good for you. You would be burning more and more money every day and you will very unlikely help decentralization.
Generally speaking, If you have the resources and access to brand new machines, then mining is always profitable. If mining is not profitable -> miners turn down machines -> difficulty go down -> mining is profitable again.
However, as you can see, bitcoin hashrate is hitting new highs every day. Profitability today is reaching new and new lows every day. This is due to technological dissemination. Every day better machines are created. This is never ever stopping, which leads to small mining operations failing.
If you live in a cold country, you could use bitcoin miners to heat your house. This way you'd be yield positive regardless of the hashrate evolution.
As mentioned by everyone else here, go for something cheap like a USB miner or a second hand miner and run it and see if it is something you'd like to do and if it is profitable given the cost of electricity/capital cost.
Mining especially ASIC mining isn't for the faint of heart or (light of hearing). It is loud, hot and sucks tons of power and isn't a fun thing to do at home for a long period of time unless you are serious and build another shed to house the equipment and pull extra power lines over.
Always know that the cost of the equipment will depreciate and the "break even" goal post tends to shift with each Diff Adjustment or release of new (faster) ASIC miner.
but the chances of success with such small miners like gekkosciense usb miner is vanishingly small, isn't it?
wouldn't it make more sense to invest more money e.g. whatsminer and benefit from the higher hashrate and the lower total consumption in relation to the total hashrate?
Just keep in mind, energy costs, aside from the initial purchase of an ASIC are everything.
Mining in Europe for example in most places within EU is so insanely unprofitable because of massively increased energy prices (+100% and more since February, with additional costs coming 2023).
So, even as a hobby that you may be okay to lose some money on, be aware that if you let an ASIC run several months and energy costs are higher than your mining returns, chances are you can lose A LOT more than your initial mining hardware expenses.
It just seems to me like mining of Bitcoin isn't that real. I have never seen anyone who says that he/she has successfully mined a Bitcoin. Maybe I must be mistaken.. I just need some insights, please.
You have never seen does not mean that they do not exist. People have been profitable with mining, even more persons than you can imagine.
You cannot be serious about really wanting to mine bitcoins for profit without spending a lot of money. The cost of mining is not just in the beginning when you just start mining, there are a lot of associated expenses that come with mining and maintaining your mining activity, you just have to be prepared for it and keep an open mind with your planned expenses.
Wow there is dozen Bitcoin farm out there, bitcoin mining is part of crypto itself so its real, member in here try mining at home and still manage small profit
The OP said they want really how mining works I Think if he didn't want spend more than 1 K the best part is buy USB mining from GekkoScience
cipher_cobraMember
Posts: 1 · Reputation: 93
#15Oct 27, 2019, 08:51 AM
I agree with you, I think mining bitcoins is not as easy as he posted. Bitcoin mining requires a huge amount of money. Mining a Bitcoin requires a huge amount of electricity. If you calculate the electricity bill for the amount of electricity that is consumed to mine a bitcoin, it can be seen that there is no profit in mining bitcoins. Many countries have already tried to do Bitcoin mining but because of the huge electricity bills they have turned away from Bitcoin mining.
It really depends on the cost itself. Some miners can have their own power source that doesn't rely on the national power grid, for example. I heard some miners use hydropower to run their farms. While that is rare, the fact that those mining farms keep operating means either they earn decent profit or they believe they can sell BTC for a profit later. CMIIW.
What do you mean by "many countries"? A nationally controlled mining farm? Is there data related to this information? As far as I know, most people refer to their pools name or something similar. Some news even reported that top miners are still making millions last year, albeit significantly lower compared to when BTC was at its high.
I think he is referring people from different countries, bitcoin mining isn't no more profitable for individual miners who spend 10K or 20K to build their grids because I witnessed many tried in 2018 and eventually failed later so they sold their devices and able to save atleast half from their capital.
Mining profits depends on electricity rate in your country, what is the actual climate where the grid is going to be located and how long you can hold the mined coina to get maximum potential profits.
its_matrixMember
Posts: 4 · Reputation: 132
#18Oct 30, 2019, 12:49 AM
Bitcoin mining is one of the notable and expensive work but in recent times there has been some stagnation in this activity. Because we all know that the price of Bitcoin is very low during this period, which means that the amount of profit is also very low.
In general, by Bitcoin mining we mean a process of generating Bitcoins through some complex mathematical solutions. However, doing this type of work at home can often lead to various problems. Mining needs perfect place to work especially it has to do in a quiet environment. Otherwise there will be problem in mining. Just as there is a difference between home and office work, mining cannot be done without a suitable environment.
coldstorageFull Member
Posts: 83 · Reputation: 528
#19Oct 30, 2019, 02:38 AM
If you need the power source anyways for other stuff (like your house) you can use the power basically for free. This is because in many cases you will get no compensation if you feed the power into the general system (or you dont even have that option).
fewunderstandFull Member
Posts: 44 · Reputation: 322
#20Oct 31, 2019, 10:28 PM
Such portable hydroelectric power plants were very common in China with a capacity of 25-250 kilowatts, but after the mining ban, there were many announcements about this sale. I also think that this uses very few miners and many questions about registering such equipment for generating electricity.
Related topics
- Check Out Our Unique VR Tour of a Bitcoin Mine | Meet Verakari Mining 0
- mining info on bitcoin.org needs an update 3
- Eco-Friendly Mining: Exploring Solar-Powered Bitcoin Opportunities 9
- Need some guidance for my thesis on Bitcoin mining 14
- Why you should consider Bitcoin mining in Africa 19
- How much can AI boost Bitcoin mining? 19