Post
Topic
Board Development & Technical Discussion
Re: Anyone whose own some fair amount of bitcoins should also own a mining machine
by
squatter
on 11/01/2018, 21:25:09 UTC
....

Anybody whose own 10 or more bitcoins should buy one miner machine - what do you think ?

No. I have some silver coins, but no silver mine.

This is true, but it only applies to Bitcoin to an extent. Silver doesn't entail a digital network whose transactions are published by miners.

I believe we are in a growth/hype phase where mining concentration is driven only by ability to cheaply manufacture ASICs and cheap/subsidized electricity. However, it seems clear that we are transitioning to an era where government regulation is deeply affecting the ecosystem. Consider the Chinese crackdown on mining (including electricity subsidies). Canada is increasingly seen as attractive from a regulatory standpoint (in addition to cheap hydropower in certain localities).

But in this context, it is increasingly important to consider nation-state attacks and censorship. Bitcoin cannot be a store-of-value (or useful) if typical users cannot transact. There must be network liquidity. There must be a competitive mining ecosystem to prevent censorship. The consequences of lacking such (particularly due to Bitmain's dominance) may become clearer over time.

ASIC mining may not be profitable for casual users. But consider three things. First, this never-ending trend in difficulty increase (the growth hype phase mentioned above) will not last forever. The time to invest is when blood is in the streets, not when hype is at its peak. Second, "profitability" should not only be considered on a short term overhead basis. Consider mining as a long term investment, not some immediate USD ROI. Also, consider it as an investment in the currency, since decentralized mining is required to secure Bitcoin from majority-miner attacks. Third, consider potential future transactions costs, particularly large UTXO consolidations. At some point, you may need to mine (including pooling hash power) in order to ensure that your transactions are published on the network at all.