The rush to capitalize on ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, is in full swing. Among those interested are the world’s miners, who operate vast networks of machines that process bitcoin transactions. Recent increases in the price of ether have sparked some bitcoin mine operators to expand their operations to cover it.
Miners operate by effectively bundling transactions and attempting to create groupings, or ‘blocks’, to be accepted by the network. They make money when the return of generating and selling cryptocurrencies exceeds the cost of the electricity required. Some have referred to mining as a form of resource arbitrage.
It’s the opportunity to generate profits on the back of Ethereum’s recent successes that has arguably attracted some bitcoin miners. For example, the CEO of China-based BitBank, Chandler Guo took to Facebook to declare his plans to enter the ether mining ring. He wrote : "I am a miner of #ethereum." Guo, who was the subject of a recent profile by the BBC , made the announcement as part of what appears to be the beginning of a new crowdfunding campaign in which he’s offering 2 percent interest for every 100,000 ETH mined by the operation. On 12th May, Guo finished a successful crowdfunding campaign to collect 3,500 bitcoins at an offered interest rate of 14 percent.
Since then, Guo has begun sharing pictures from the Chinese operation, including the racks of graphics cards needed to mine ether.
Yet recent moves in the global mining space suggests that Guo is not alone among that community to at least test the waters of processing transactions on Ethereum as well as bitcoin. Ether mining gains momentum
The multi-year history of bitcoin mining is, in part, a demonstration of technological evolution. From the early days of CPU mining to the massive ASIC-driven operations we […]
