Bitcoin mining is a business governed by conditions that are both simple to understand and difficult to meet. And if mining Bitcoin is becoming more and more inaccessible to an individual, as time passes and the queen of currencies becomes the investment potential of a lifetime, it is still possible in 2020 to witness rare events combining rising prices (Bitcoin at $15,000 was the champagne cork of the week) and falling difficulty in its mining.
This unexpected and pleasing coincidence for Bitcoin miners could be among the very last of its kind. Indeed, in the more or less near future, it is likely that this type of variation will only benefit future industry leaders, the only ones capable of aligning the increasingly colossal resources involved in the activity.
In the meantime, this is a good opportunity to indulge in the joys of Bitcoin mining, by investing in a robust, efficient and profitable machine, on the condition that you surround yourself with the right partners to ensure that the said machine will provide maximum productivity in the best possible environment (which will not be your living room, you have been warned).
Thousand Billion Hash - What is the Bitcoin Network (BTC) hashrate?
A little reminder to start with. The "Hashrate" (or "Hash Rate" in Molière's language, which is not necessarily more explicit) is made up of all the computing power deployed at a given moment T on the Bitcoin network. And as you browse the web, you may come across this type of definition:
"Hash is a transformational process that converts data strings into a fixed length of alphanumeric sequences".
If this kind of definition is ideal to shine in the evening - and unless you're a computer engineer yourself or a visceral enthusiast of applied cryptography - one will agree that it will plunge most amateurs discovering the subject into perplexity. Indeed, while it is always interesting to learn a few things in passing, nothing is worse than feeling excluded from a subject because of an accumulation of potentially intimidating technical terms.
The Key to the Bitcoin Network
So, rather than talking about the SHA-256 algorithm, nuncio or full hexadecimal notation, let me use the following analogy: whether to create new bitcoins, validate transactions running on its blockchain, or guarantee the security of its blockchain, millions of network participants will attempt at regular intervals to open an extremely complex digital lock.
To convince the lock to open, these participants - known as "miners" - will relentlessly forge trillions (trillions of billions) of different keys in the hope that one of them will unlock the treasure chest. 1 hash = 1 key of 64 characters, and thus a chance to unlock the lock.
This action will generate a block that will contain the transactions that have just been executed on the blockchain. A "block" is created, a new link of the Bitcoin blockchain is added to a chain that started more than 10 years ago, creating in the process the most robust and resilient digital edifice ever.
In addition, the lucky locksmith (who more often than not is himself part of a large brotherhood of other locksmiths as the task is impossible to do alone) is rewarded for his efforts with new BTCs. This is what is known as a "block reward", 6.25 BTC per block at present. Once this colossal task has been completed, it is time to move on to the next block, with blocks being generated approximately every 10 minutes.
If we continue to spin the metaphor, we can see that locksmiths equipped with a large quantity of excellent quality material will be able to forge infinitely more keys than those that run out on outdated craft tools. To grasp this underlying mechanics is to fundamentally understand a central rule of the way the Bitcoin network works: its unrivaled security is notably guaranteed by the endless power stroke that takes place behind the scenes.
Once this detour through the wonderful world of locksmithing is over, it's time to return to the computer reality of the exercise: to validate a block, the BTC miners have to solve a cryptographic equation by deploying a debauchery of computing power, which also involves huge amounts of electrical energy, in order to power a very special breed of computer unit: the ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit).
It should be remembered that at one time it was possible to take part in this worldwide competition with relatively modest means (in other words: with traditional computer hardware). However, the mining of Bitcoin today requires the deployment of these ASICs, ultra-specialized machines, exclusively dedicated to a single task: to generate at the speed of light phenomenal quantities of computations of such a nature as to unlock ("validate") a new block.
In the end, for any Bitcoin apprentice miner, selecting the ideal ASIC machine will also involve solving an equation: determining the best balance point between
- The price of the machine
- Its power consumption
- Its power, expressed in TeraHash/second
The TeraHash, the miner's master stallion
The number of TeraHashes that an ASIC is capable of deploying directly affects its ability to participate in the great global race. One TH/sec is 1 trillion operations per second. In other words, the S19 Antminer presented a little lower with its 84TH/sec produces 84,000 billion Hashes every second. And you thought you were good at mental arithmetic!
Now you've grasped it, what we call Bitcoin networks are the millions of ASIC machines that every second produce phenomenal amounts of computation, in an endless race to the next block, and its precious reward. Moreover, what is called the hashrate is nothing less than the accumulation of all this computing power at a moment T.
What you need to remember is that the higher the hashrate level, the more difficult the mining activity is. Indeed, a high level implies increased competition between an ever-increasing number of miners engaged in the race.
Overall, since its inception, the hashrate level of the Bitcoin network has never stopped growing, a phenomenon largely caused by the astronomical evolution of the Bitcoin price and its ever-increasing adoption.
Nevertheless, the Bitcoin network has experienced a significant decrease in hashrate in recent weeks, in proportions that could even be described as historic! What are the causes of such a phenomenon, even though Bitcoin is on the rise like never before?
The crypto-butterfly effect
As reported a few days ago by the US crypto media "TheBlock", the Bitcoin hashrate experienced a very important drop in October, so important in fact that the network had not seen such a drop since...2011!
-16% drop as of November 3, 2020, compared to the average of the year. A very significant variation whose causes are to be found ... in the Chinese weather! Indeed, as we have just seen, the level of the global hashrate is conditioned by the cumulative power of all the actors of the Bitcoin network. However, many of the professional players in Bitcoin mining are Chinese or have facilities in China. These facilities are concentrated in the Sichuan region, which is rich in hydroelectric installations, an ideal context for the establishment of BTC mining farms. As the rainy season is coming to an end, Chinese miners are mechanically confronted with rising energy costs, forcing many facilities to switch to degraded mode. By the very nature of its protocol, the mining difficulty is thus revised downwards, a potential windfall for those who would like to take advantage of this window of opportunity to position themselves. The opportunity is indeed attractive, all the more so since the rate of the queen of digital currencies is currently at a high level!
In short, by an unlikely domino effect, the end of the monsoon in China allows thousands of Bitcoin miners to see their profitability increase, without any particular effort.
A reduced mining difficulty, a Bitcoin at its highest point: a non-standard context that may never happen again!
Mining Bitcoin with your own ASIC
As pointed out earlier, there is really no magic formula to be a profitable Bitcoin miner as a private individual in 2020. However, some opportunities remain, provided that you train particularly well and get the services of the right partners.
As such, if you attend this Mining Tribune from time to time, you will begin to get to know all the good things people think about the Grenoble-based company Feel Mining. Feel Mining specializes in services related to crypto mining in all its forms, from masternodes, to Cloud mining, through... the sale and hosting of Bitcoin miners in dedicated sites around the world.
The equation is simple: you make your choice on the Feel Mining site between various Bitcoin mining machines. You can learn more about the Bitmain S19 and S19PRO war machines in this dedicated article or the latest addition to the range, the T19, a solid ASIC at a discounted price.
Whichever model you are interested in, Feel Mining offers to host and operate your Bitcoin miners for you, on one of the international sites where the company deploys its operations.
At the time of order, you will have the choice between Canada and Siberia to host your valuable equipment. Note in passing that if the rate of Siberian electricity is a little more interesting (0.05 euros/Kw/h compared to 0.055 for Canada), the installation time of your equipment will be a little longer.
Another reason to be happy: the Asics Antminer are guaranteed for 6 months by the manufacturer Bitmain. Feel Mining has recently offered you an additional 18-month warranty extension. This will give you 2 years of peace of mind, free of any technical problems or other machine breakdowns.
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