Notes on Bitcoin Mining
November 29, 2021

Everyone heard about Bitcoin, but it’s hard to find someone who can explain how it works. A relative of mine wanted to try bitcoin mining, and he asked me to help him with setting things up. I only have a high-level grasp of Bitcoin’s inner workings, so it turned out to be quite a venture.

First, it’s pretty hard to figure out if bitcoin mining is profitable and if it’s a good investment. There are many variables at play, and most of them are unpredictable. Here is a few things I found interesting:

  • Mining is far more profitable than I expected.
  • Cost of electricity is important, but you can still mine with a good profit even if your electricity is rather expensive.
  • ASICs are noisy, you can turn on your vacuum cleaner to get a glimpse on an expected noise level from a single device.
  • You’re going to need a good ventilation if you want to mine bitcoins.
  • ASICs are pretty durable if you treat them well, 5+ year lifespans isn’t something unheard of.
  • ASICs are liquid, you can easily sell them even if you used them for quite some time.
  • ASICs are super easy to set up, you just need to tell them where to send the money, and you’re good to go.