neo-ninja Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 HI All, I was wondering does anyone have any experience with Bitcoin or bitcoin mining? I recently got my bonus and was looking at investing part of it in a bitcoin mining rig to see what it was all about and if I can get any sensible returns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jell36 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I'd be interested to understand more about this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudgedon Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I've been talking about this with guys at work Ot seems unless you're already rich or a ****ing genius, you ain't getting any of this action Plus, would you really want to invest in what is essentially a fictional currency? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 I've been talking about this with guys at work Ot seems unless you're already rich or a ****ing genius, you ain't getting any of this action Plus, would you really want to invest in what is essentially a fictional currency? From what i have read there is no need to be a genius unless you want to make chips, you simply invest in a rig get it going and hey presto. The clever part comes when learning / knowing when to cash in your coins. I know what you mean about the fictional currency side, but I get the impression it's here to stay at least for the short term, several big people have significant % of their wealth in bitcoins. Also there are several big companies who have produced huge orders of farming machines (were talking 100s of 1000s) . You can now buy rigs that are £100k+. I also read another article that estimated there is over £100m invested in bitcoins. What I'm struggling with a little bit is the whole "its too good to be true so probably is" factor. Some of the rigs you can buy are £600-1000 and using the online calculators can make you at current bitcoin market value a return of around £100-200 a month. Obviously you need to factor in electricity. I just don't know if those figures are unrealistic and if they are a bit like those ebay superchargers with batteries in them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez @ H-Dev Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 (edited) The biggest thing that got me thinking is why aren't the mining machine manufacturers not running the machines themselves? Guess its the old "when theres a gold rush sell shovels" thing... Edited May 30, 2013 by Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 The biggest thing that got me thinking is why aren't the mining machine manufacturers not running the machines themselves? Guess its the old "when theres a gold rush sell shovels" thing... Thats exactly what I don't really understand actually. But your analogy is probably spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themw Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I know a little about this and the problem as I see it is that the more people that are successful in solving the mathematical problems (mining), the more difficult the maths becomes (it is controlled centrally, I believe). Therefore the better hardware you need to have a reasonable chance of discovering a coin. You used to be able to get a few PCs with ATI graphics cards and set them up, but there are hardware providers that have created machines designed for the specific purpose of bitcoin mining. As such these machines are far far better then the average person could afford. It's gone from a few hundred pounds to thousands... https://products.butterflylabs.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Please explain more to me. this seems interesting. I will be googling later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themw Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Please explain more to me. this seems interesting. I will be googling later. This isn't a bad introduction. There's loads of information out there if you search for bitcoin mining. http://www.weusecoins.com/en/mining-guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 A colleague of mine but £100's worth of them a couple of years ago, and sold them earlier this year for over £1000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 A colleague of mine but £100's worth of them a couple of years ago, and sold them earlier this year for over £1000. The coins or the machines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjt Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I was speaking to a client in work about this who was advising me to get into it; he got into it as a way to pay for stuff online that ordinary currency couldn't buy (ha) and reckons he ended up making a lot of money accidentally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 I was speaking to a client in work about this who was advising me to get into it; he got into it as a way to pay for stuff online that ordinary currency couldn't buy (ha) and reckons he ended up making a lot of money accidentally... ....the stuff you can buy with them on the TOR network I have heard is very shifty everything from professional hit men to dial a gram services. Did you actually give it a try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjt Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I was speaking to a client in work about this who was advising me to get into it; he got into it as a way to pay for stuff online that ordinary currency couldn't buy (ha) and reckons he ended up making a lot of money accidentally... ....the stuff you can buy with them on the TOR network I have heard is very shifty everything from professional hit men to dial a gram services. Did you actually give it a try? No, it appeared to me that the initial boom he had enjoyed was long gone, plus I didn't need a hitman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Is this like an online Ponzi scheme? Not that its pyramid based, but the fact that its profitable while people are joining. And that those in early make all the money, and those new lose out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fodder Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Is this like an online Ponzi scheme? Not that its pyramid based, but the fact that its profitable while people are joining. And that those in early make all the money, and those new lose out? My bit of research today makes me think this is the case especially as they are holding the amount of new coins issued each year. $100+ USD for a currency which doesn't have any real value. The US regulators are starting to get interested too. In effect if you're "mining" you will most likely be heavily regulated against similarly to a payments processor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuarty Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Please explain more to me. this seems interesting. I will be googling later. This isn't a bad introduction. There's loads of information out there if you search for bitcoin mining. http://www.weusecoins.com/en/mining-guide I read 2 lines of that and fell asleep, sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Please explain more to me. this seems interesting. I will be googling later. This isn't a bad introduction. There's loads of information out there if you search for bitcoin mining. http://www.weusecoin...en/mining-guide I read 2 lines of that and fell asleep, sorry! Watch the video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squee Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 And there was me thinking BitCoin was only for those buying narcotics on Silk Road! S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Is this like an online Ponzi scheme? Not that its pyramid based, but the fact that its profitable while people are joining. And that those in early make all the money, and those new lose out? My bit of research today makes me think this is the case especially as they are holding the amount of new coins issued each year. $100+ USD for a currency which doesn't have any real value. The US regulators are starting to get interested too. In effect if you're "mining" you will most likely be heavily regulated against similarly to a payments processor. So from my understanding, they have the hold the currency each year, to make sure it doesn't become devalued. What backs up the currency is partly this and partly the fact that in order to get it you are data mining and solving mathematical problems that use real energy to use and components, the problems now will easily kill a laptop (From what I have read). They are also now making physical currency which you can buy. That also sounds quite fascinating as its digital currency but in physical form. I know what you mean about Ponzi scheme it just seems too good to be true, but then again you read about the vast amount of wealth that is being stored and turned into these coins and it does make you feel like it can't all come crashing down, and the fact that the US has tried / is trying to get it shut down as its growing rapidly. Also several places now take bitcoin as payment methods. (including fairly nefarious people - which is one of the reasons the US dont like it as its almost impossible to track transactions, Which means no TAX no law etc..) I find it truly fascinating, but i haven't yet found someone (and im on quite a few forums with quite alot of tech minded people,) who has actually done it / is doing it and that makes me very suspicious. However there are said to be some people who were minding for coins in the old days (less then 2 years ago), got together several thousand of them and have recently cashed out making millions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 And there was me thinking BitCoin was only for those buying narcotics on Silk Road! S. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/22/silk-road-online-drug-marketplace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fodder Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 No the mathematical problems are transaction processing and checking as far as I can tell hence the regulators taking a keen interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo-ninja Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 No the mathematical problems are transaction processing and checking as far as I can tell hence the regulators taking a keen interest Ah thats interesting, but im right in thinking they are very intensive on hardware and power... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fodder Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Yep, actually found the Wikipedia article interesting. You caught my interest to be honest and it is related to resource consumption v how much perceived value you can generate. So the most cost effective systems are engineered for this process only and this goes back to Jez's analogy and to some extent RT's. I realise this hone replaced halving with holding.... I think they key was to get in early, it seems some brokers are already getting stung and going under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fodder Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Oh and the regulator side made me very nervous. I work for a US bank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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