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and fyi, i've been mining since 2011, first with gpu's, and then moved to asics so i understand quite well the economic incentives involved. and for that matter, it's been incredibly lucrative mostly b/c of the price increase since then. i've never heard you say that you mine so i'd keep my mouth shut b/c you'll never understand it completely w/o having done it.
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I've never mined though I own a couple of those ASIC USB devices as novelties. I'll let you in on a little secret as to why since I like you: It's fucking stupid!
I could simply buy a days worth of total mining production for the cost of a quasi-respectable mining set-up back when I was getting going (and we are more-or-less contemporaries if my memory serves.) If I sunk all of my speculative funds into mining I could only get BTC at a relatively slow rate, and if the price went up, the rate would be even slower as other retards desperately joined in. And tending to a mining cluster would quickly start to resemble work (and I was sick of doing that sort of work and wanted to take a break for a while.) Since hodling and mining were both going to pay off only on a BTC price increase hodling made a hell of a lot more sense to me.
i agree that buying BTC straight up is the fastest way to accumulate and that is precisely what i did back in 2011. but not everyone has the resources or extra cash lying around to do that. don't forget many miners are college kids or workers in places where they get free electricity. also, there are plenty of professionals mining in places round the world where electricity is cheap and plentiful. those are ideal places to mine.
mining represents diversification. you forget that miners are building out the infrastructure that is meant to replace the banking system. its very attractive to participate in that process if you have the right conditions. i said before, i mine to understand the psychology behind the miner, but its become more than that. with time, i have realized that i am one of them. what you fail to understand, as an unprincipled, amoral, opportunistic, socialist boomer that you are, is that there is more to Bitcoin mining than just making a fast buck. this is a Movement. the straight up exponential rise in the hashrate is a reflection of pent up frustration with the current fiat banking system. tech savvy entrepreneurs are pouring millions into a new system meant to replace the banks. ppl like that concept and want to help in whatever way they can besides just buying BTC. it's an investment in knowledge accumulation as well. if i can understand what it takes to be a successful miner, perhaps one day when the system stabilizes after having become widespread, i can be a permanent part of a an infrastructure with more certainty. mining is a skill set that is necessary to truly understand Bitcoin. i also see this enthusiasm in the threads of ppl wanting to set up full nodes. they are willing to contribute freely to increase the network robustness even though there is no immediate return. but deep down they know that if they can help perpetuate the network they will profit when the price eventually rises again.
watching videos of the early gpu miners back in 2011 made my jaw drop. i could not believe the enthusiasm behind these guys in their garages and basements. and how many there were. i knew i needed to get involved to experience what it was they were
feeling. turns out only one thing drives ppl like that, and that is
money. not stocks, not bonds, not gold, not assurance contracts, not smart contracts, not anything except liquid
money. this is why i'm beginning to think that the blockchain will only ever be applicable to Bitcoin as money. nothing may be able to incentivize a POW blockchain dependent on mining, like BTC has. the only chance those other assets have is to link themselves to the Bitcoin network, security wise. or else they're doomed to hacks or centralized intervention. but i'm not sure about this concept yet and that is besides the point.
as miners, we're like rabid dogs; our muscles are bulging and tense, our pupils are dilated, the blood vessels on the whites of our eyes are engorged, we have saliva running out the sides of our mouths, and we're straining at the end of a leash trying to get our paws on BTC. you can feel the intensity and competitiveness when you go to the Hardware forum. when i first get a new batch of miners i work days, nights, and weekends to get them up and running and fine tuned to be as efficient as possible. and this is btwn my day job responsibilities. and that is after all the months of research in the Hardware forum in preparation for their arrival. we are an interesting bunch that's for sure. but it's fun to be an admin. to gain control over your machines, connect them up to a global network and watch the software run it's magic. it's stimulating to see my machines hook up to 40, 50, or 100 other machines around the globe all the while communicating information seamlessly. i love consulting with other miners with my questions. mostly, we're a collegial bunch trying to help each other out. it's strategic, it's challenging, and there's risk. for a long while i was a solo miner and it's hard to describe hitting a full block reward. it's a beautiful sight to watch the stratum protocol hash away line by line trying to hit the target. you can see the equitability in a system based on randomness right there on your screen. Slush even hid away some cute messages for those hashes that exceed a certain difficulty just to keep us amused.
there's something indescribable to solving a block for 50 or 25 BTC all by your lonesome that will go down permanently in history; not to mention that they're worth a crapload of money. i like tinkering, i like doing the math, i like learning linux, and i like the work (unlike you) to make it all happen. guys like me will ensure that the network never fails. and there are legions of us. i feel i'm contributing to a new innovative opt-out system that can change the world.
these are the intangible factors that go into the power of mining that only true miners understand and that will always befuddle peabrains like you.
I know the exact feeling as I mined several 50 BTC blocks....one of which was mined right before I made this video:
Oh that seems like such a long time ago (over 3 years now).
P.S. and a few bonus videos:
