Bitcoins - anyone here mining? (page 2)

NewYork44M

The concept intiated by bitcoins will not go away, but alas, Bitcoins will.

It's really no problem to disagree with me and yeah, I was thinking about how much computing power the forum must have used over the years but I don't think it's much compared to alt-coint mining which is computationally intense. I was just sharing my opinion and thoughts.

There are lots of interesting possibilities with alt-coins but like many things, the first-to-market doesn't always win the spoils but can blaze a trail for later success.

So much of the promise and benefits seem to evaporate once you look into it further or rely on contradictions (not taking things as a whole).

Take the 'low cost transactions'. Works great until you factor in legislation and consumer protection and of course the fees pais to miners who won't be making any money from minining anymore ... and voila, you have the existing payment fees. Some people tout it for foreigh exchange but instead of having Fiet -> Fiat conversion you instead have Fiat -> Bitcoin -> Fiat which to my simplistic brain means *more* transaction fees, not less. Just someone who wants to invent a way for them to be in the middle.

It also all assumes that the existing incumbents like Visa, Mastercard, Amex, PayPal et al can't tighten the screw to be more competitive with fees if they need to be and I believe they have lots of scope.

Outside of the fantasy land of techies, all thes emobile wallet crap just isn't used. No one pays for coffee at Tim Hortons with BitCoin and imagine being in the queue and "yeah ... I'll have a double ... oh no, wait, I can't affort anything ... no wait, it's back up".

The other retailers really make a pittance compared to what they get from traditional payments and simply do it for publicity or because someone paid them to accept it / want to look cool.

I'd negative on it right now. I just finished working for a payment processing company involved with Bitcoin exchanges and I was not impressed with what I saw & learnt.

That doesn't mean that there aren't competent and reputable companies out there capable of solving the problems and making things work but right now it's so so early and furrounded by lots of hype and volatile pricing that I think anyone should be careful being too involved with money they can't afford to lose in value.

Remember, Bitcoin is not meant as a store of value as it's underlying value is ... well, nothing.

Apognophos

Remember, Bitcoin is not meant as a store of value as it's underlying value is ... well, nothing.

This is the part where a certain member reminds us of his ongoing mission to appropriate as much of the world's silver supply as possible

besty

what equipment are you running Jim_TX

Jim_TX

Besty - As I mentioned above - I have only been mining Bitcoins for over a month. My co-worker has been doing it for about two months.

He is using Bitmain miners. I am using Habanero miners.

I am approaching 1 Bitcoin (yeah, not as much as others). The exchange rate for 1 Bitcoin right now is about $475 to $525.

I am aware of the ups and downs, the ins and outs of Bitcoin mining. I realize that it isn't for some people.

I am mining as a source of extra income, and while it is slow going, am seeing progress.

Due to the hostile environment here in this forum, if there is real interest and a desire to continue this discussion, folks can look me up on Facebook and I'll be glad to continue discussing this.

Regards,

Jim TX

Simon

No one has been hostile - just because I'm not bullish on something doesn't equate to being hostile !

I'm simply pointing out the facts as I see them and sharing my opinion.

I think there is a danger that some people get caught up in the hype around bitcoin and could end up losing money if they are not careful. Even with mining it's important to do the math and factor in equipment, power and cooling costs to know if you're really making money or not and how much.

If you're just after a team of BitCoin cheerleaders I'm sure there are places to go to get them.

hoser

I looked into it a little while ago and the math didn't add up for me. I think for it to be profitable a person would have to live in a place where electricity rates were low and a cool climate where the heat generated from your computer equipment could be used to offset your heating bill in the wintertime.

Apognophos

Living next to a waterfall would also be helpful.

besty

The consensus seems to be that hobbyist mining for short term profit is over unless you have access to very cheap electricity. Of course playing with trainsets doesn't neccessarily make financial sense either, and as a way to learn about digital currency mining is a great start.

For example https://cointerra.com/product/terraminer-iv-used-bitcoin-miners/ offers a 1.6TH/s machine for $1500 and its probably going to cost $200 per month in electricity minimum. You can model some scenarios here https://bitcoinwisdom.com/bitcoin/calculator but its difficult to see how this can make money unless BTC rises in price or difficulty turns flat or negative.

If you are bullish on BTC then maybe simply buying some and using it to make purchases is a good start.

Bitcoins - anyone here mining?

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