David Carlson: The Bitcoin Pioneer | Carlson, a former software engineer, is often credited with starting the basin’s bitcoin boom when he built one of the world’s first large-scale mines in an old furniture store in Wenatchee. “We’re where the blockchain goes from that virtual concept to something that’s real in the world, something that somebody had to build and is actually running,” he says. Here, Carlson stands in front of his latest mining endeavor, a megaproject made up of 24 prefabricated mining “pods.” | Patrick Cavan Brown for Politico Magazine
 



 
 
EAST WENATCHEE, Washington—Hands on the wheel, eyes squinting against the winter sun, Lauren Miehe eases his Land Rover down the main drag and tells me how he used to spot promising sites to build a bitcoin mine, back in 2013, when he was a freshly arrived techie from Seattle and had just discovered this sleepy rural community.
The attraction then, as now, was the Columbia River, which we can glimpse a few blocks to our left. Bitcoin mining—the complex process in which computers solve a complicated math puzzle to win a stack of virtual currency—uses an inordinate amount of electricity, and thanks to five hydroelectric dams that straddle this stretch of the river, about three hours east of Seattle, miners could buy that power more cheaply here than anywhere else in the nation. 
 
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/03/09/bitcoin-mining-energy-prices-smalltown-feature-217230 
 
Benny: The Rogue Miner “Benny,” a self-taught, 20-something computer whiz, set up three mining servers in his Wenatchee home last summer. Since then he has made enough profit not only to recover his initial investment but also to pay his monthly mortgage. As a bonus, the heat from the computers keeps his home heated all winter. “It’s just basically free money,” says Benny, pictured here with his homemade mining operation. | Patrick Cavan Brown for Politico Magazine
 
Miehe still runs his original mine, a half-megawatt operation not far from the carwash. But his main job these days is managing hosting sites for other miners and connecting outsiders with insiders
Salcido says he’ll have 42 megawatts running by the end of the year and 150 megawatts by 2020
 
1/2 a megawatt...like dang that's a lot of energy and cooling
42 Megawatts.... <Bam> i think My head exploded
 
As a last note where is the security - seems it's a easy target like the Servers in Iceleand

Seems mining is doing the exact same thing as currency, theres going to be 8 big families, or people or corporations if it lasts, that end up owning it all, inducing market ups/downs and dictating to everyone else. What a waste of potential computing power to do good things with, like folding.

What a waste of energy. 

You see! Miners stole our cards!

There is a lot worse ways to make money IMO. In the mean time we will all have to see just how much of a wast if at all crypto becomes. Also, people could mine for charity and all of a sudden it's not a wast anymore, if that's your take on it. And, before I'm stoned to death, mining isn't cost effective where I live, so I won't be trying it anytime soon.

XrayMan

fearpoint
What a waste of energy. 

+1  My thoughts too.

Lol, right, because playing a game doesn't waste any energy. If anything, gaming is more selfish while the device doesn't pay for itself at all.

panzlock

lehpron

XrayMan

fearpoint
What a waste of energy. 

+1  My thoughts too.

Lol, right, because playing a game doesn't waste any energy. If anything, gaming is more selfish while the device doesn't pay for itself at all.

Good point. But be careful. That is a personal attack as some Moderators believe.

I think the statement is OK as it stands but as always please help keep this thread clean. Thank you everyone.

lehpron

XrayMan

fearpoint
What a waste of energy. 

+1  My thoughts too.

Lol, right, because playing a game doesn't waste any energy. If anything, gaming is more selfish while the device doesn't pay for itself at all.

Sure all forms of entertainment are a waste of energy when you could be making money 24/7 like a robot. Thank you for the this philosophical enlightenment.

Gamers are mad at miners, but if they could get cards at MSRP would they even care about miners? What they should be directing their displeasure at is the lack of stock causing the cost to be so high.

fearpoint
 
So snarky is there some way to turn that into cyrptocurrency?

I wish.
 
And you wish you were correct in your assessment of my comment. Apparently it's snarky to point out hypocrisy. And promiscuity cures AIDS!

KLEYBA
You see! Miners stole our cards!

The mines pictured use ASIC miners, not GPUs - with one possible exception.
GigaWatt in specific (and MegaBigPower before it, Carlson's company(s)) has ALWAYS been ASIC based - they were an original BitFury "partner" and apparently helped fund or partnered on the funding of at least a couple of BitFury's early ASIC chip designs.