As the price of Bitcoin goes up, there will be renewed interest in mining. I'm of the opinion that most small scale indviduals, looking at hosting miners or mining at home should steer clear as I watched a good portion of my friends get completely wrecked last cycle. I personally did not fare too hot last cycle, buying expensive equipment, only for it to devalue and be unable to run profitably at home.
I mine a little bit at home, specifically in the winter to heat my house. I use S9s which are not profitable, and do it because I got them for free by working in the industry. I've spent hours and hours tinkering with different machines, trying to get setup at home, and determined the S9 is the easiest route because you can run them on typical 120v outlets unlike most modern miners, and the noise mitigation is the easiest.
GETTING STARTED:
If you have never mined before, and are hellbent on doing it because you want to learn here are a few suggestions:
-
Buy from a reputable source and triple check they are who they say they are. Don't immediately trust the guy who DMs you on telegram because there are a lot of scammers. There are at least 3-4 accounts impersonating me on the platform.
-
Cheaper doesn't always mean better. A lot of people pinch pennies to go with the cheapest supplier and end up paying on the backend. There's a lot to this stuff that most people cannot comprehend without experience.
-
I think it's best not to blow a bunch of money on new equipment. I still think the S9 is the best option as it is noisy but not too noisy. It lets you or your wife figure out if you can handle it without putting too much money in it, and without having to change any electrical infrastructure.
UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET:
The economics of Bitcoin mining are incredibly difficult. They change rapidly and constantly. I'll talk about this more
I got tired and didn't finish the post but I'll continue on it soon