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Topic: how can mining still be profitable even for the big farms (Read 3130 times)

legendary
Activity: 2982
Merit: 4193
The real people who get the most profit is the ASIC manufacturer. They "test" their customer's orders and profit themselves. Most of the big farms are hosted in datacenter with low electrical cost and good cooling. They can easily buy some used raspberry pi as a controller, or some of the ASIC even come with a controller.
sr. member
Activity: 272
Merit: 250
Big farms usually get better deal on electricity rates, thats how they are more profitable..
newbie
Activity: 16
Merit: 1
Mining is a long-term bet on the transaction volume of the bitcoin economy. The large players are poised to benefit over time as the transaction fees paid to miners rises with transaction volume. Short term, you're just happy to break even on electricity. But If you have the capital to burn while you wait for the tipping point of transaction volume, it'll be worth the wait.
sr. member
Activity: 350
Merit: 250
Noone sinks that many millions into huge facilities like that without a long term plan so people should not assume the big farms are turning a profit 'at the moment'.

My guess is its a waiting game, as Ive said in the past, first to blink.

5 or more large players owning a huge chunk of the hashrate, holding the difficulty up to break point and waiting firstly for the small players to drop out then medium players rigs to become unprofitable enough to drop out eventually only leaving those players too big to quit.

If they can hold the hashrate to dollar value high enough that noone in their right mind would every want to contest them, then they have won the arms race.

The end game then is a bitcoin version of OPEC (  perhaps Organization of the Bitcoin Exporting Companies - possibly a reincarnation of the Bitcoin Foundation ) which will be an economic cartel with the task to coordinate the policies of the bitcoin mining conglomerates. The goal would be to secure a steady income to the large mining conglomerates and to steady the price of bitcoin while guaranteeing constant supply to the markets.

Basically a complete bastardisation of everything Satoshi tried to create.

1.  Bitcoin is not a consumable commodity like oil, nor does it have a relatively inelastic demand.  There is NO comparison whatsoever between Bitcoin and OPEC or oil.  None. 
2.  What Satoshi tried to create?    I've read his white paper many times as I'm sure you have as well, and there is NOTHING in it abut trying to create anything other than a trust-less, irrevocable electronic payment system, which isn't bastardized or even effected by who is profiting from the mining. 
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
Kia ora!
Noone sinks that many millions into huge facilities like that without a long term plan so people should not assume the big farms are turning a profit 'at the moment'.

My guess is its a waiting game, as Ive said in the past, first to blink.

5 or more large players owning a huge chunk of the hashrate, holding the difficulty up to break point and waiting firstly for the small players to drop out then medium players rigs to become unprofitable enough to drop out eventually only leaving those players too big to quit.

If they can hold the hashrate to dollar value high enough that noone in their right mind would every want to contest them, then they have won the arms race.

The end game then is a bitcoin version of OPEC (  perhaps Organization of the Bitcoin Exporting Companies - possibly a reincarnation of the Bitcoin Foundation ) which will be an economic cartel with the task to coordinate the policies of the bitcoin mining conglomerates. The goal would be to secure a steady income to the large mining conglomerates and to steady the price of bitcoin while guaranteeing constant supply to the markets.

Basically a complete bastardisation of everything Satoshi tried to create.
hero member
Activity: 1372
Merit: 783
better everyday ♥
Only if these farms have extremely cheap electricity, own the facilities, have natural cooling like say in Iceland or a cooler temperature country, or have solar panels setup already is there possibility of profit for a mega farm.

Otherwise, the only farms that are really profitable are the ones making the pickaxes: Bitmain, Spondoolies, AsicMiner, Bitfury, KNC etc
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
Since now technology is not advancing as fast as expected and currently we face the first lower difficulty change the machines get more greedy for electricity the difficulty may slow down for a while untill new asics come.So until then only free power saves all big farms

16 nm is coming, another big hike in difficulty...
legendary
Activity: 1036
Merit: 1000
Since now technology is not advancing as fast as expected and currently we face the first lower difficulty change the machines get more greedy for electricity the difficulty may slow down for a while untill new asics come.So until then only free power saves all big farms
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
but how do those that are not manufacturers make money?
 a farm like this:

How about a panoramic?




That investment would never have been able to be able to pay back for the hardware and make a profit that is worth it.
How do they do it?? buy hardware then mine for some time and sell them on ebay overpriced?? thats how i did it when i was mining. however this is inefficient as u always would need to change cooling power management to fit new hardware stuff like that which would cause long down time if needet to be done correctly with cable management


They don't pay "retail" prices for mining equipment. They can get a significant discount on the hardware because it cost much less to produce miners then they are sold to retail customers. The mining manufacturers simply let the retail customers pay for the R&D via higher prices and preorders and let the corporate mining farms buy the miners at a discount as there are less logistical costs involved in selling to them (less salesmen, less shipping to various places, ect)
I think the "motto" behind this is that it certainly pays to have a lot of money. If you only pay retail prices for miners then you will be at a huge disadvantage compared to someone who is able to buy miners by the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth. The price difference between the two classes of people will be huge
legendary
Activity: 1148
Merit: 1000
iirc he said he took 50Ths offline.  Even sitting in his garage collecting dust he is unsure what he is going to do with the hardware.  I PMd a bit with him and let's just say he isn't exactly looking to give it away so even unplugged and unprofitable, he feels it has value (and he's right).
hero member
Activity: 784
Merit: 1004
Glow Stick Dance!
25?  Try 250.  You need to think way bigger than you are.  25 is hobby mining.

in the pictures those where not 250 miners max 120 s1 and 25 s2, how can u run and setup those miners and be profitable??

Why don't you ask the guy himself? I don't think he took everything offline. I believe he's still running his most efficient gear. And yes, he probably made a profit on the old machines which he most likely got a bulk discount on.

But the point I'm making is... you can't go out and buy a bunch of machines and duplicate his success. No one can. It's just not possible now. The ASIC manufacturers are the only people who can do this in the current mining landscape.
member
Activity: 77
Merit: 10
25?  Try 250.  You need to think way bigger than you are.  25 is hobby mining.

in the pictures those where not 250 miners max 120 s1 and 25 s2, how can u run and setup those miners and be profitable??
legendary
Activity: 4158
Merit: 8049
'The right to privacy matters'
25?  Try 250.  You need to think way bigger than you are.  25 is hobby mining.

even 250 s-3's is only 125th at best.

and 125th earns about 2 blocks a month.

 back in the day i earned a coin a day oh i spent 5kwatts an hour in gpu's, but i got a coin a day for 5 kwatts.

 5kwatts now gets me 6.6th or about 2.8 coins a month


vs
    13gh in gpus and 33 coins a month
legendary
Activity: 1344
Merit: 1023
Mine at Jonny's Pool
25?  Try 250.  You need to think way bigger than you are.  25 is hobby mining.
member
Activity: 77
Merit: 10
but how do those that are not manufacturers make money?
 a farm like this:

How about a panoramic?

PIC OMITTED


That investment would never have been able to be able to pay back for the hardware and make a profit that is worth it.
How do they do it?? buy hardware then mine for some time and sell them on ebay overpriced?? thats how i did it when i was mining. however this is inefficient as u always would need to change cooling power management to fit new hardware stuff like that which would cause long down time if needet to be done correctly with cable management



Farms just like this are being shutdown as we speak because they no longer make money.

In fact, the guy who's farm that's shown in the pic... Here's what it looks like today.

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/about-50ths-offline-youre-welcome-fellow-miners-813649







he stated that he made some profit

Yeah, Price + Difficulty = S1 and Jupiter retirement.

All said and done about 50TH offline now. Dunno what I'm going to do with them.



Sucks, but yeah... Keeping all that running would be expensive. You could try to sell to some location with (extremely) cheap electricity for some petty cash.

Out of curiosity, did you make any profit with your setup?

Definitely

When he bought those machines he must have gotten a large amount off the retail price to be able to make a profit thats worth it? do u need connections to get that or do u just email the producer (in this case bitmaintech ) and ask for a discount for large number of miners 25+?
hero member
Activity: 784
Merit: 1004
Glow Stick Dance!
but how do those that are not manufacturers make money?
 a farm like this:

How about a panoramic?

PIC OMITTED


That investment would never have been able to be able to pay back for the hardware and make a profit that is worth it.
How do they do it?? buy hardware then mine for some time and sell them on ebay overpriced?? thats how i did it when i was mining. however this is inefficient as u always would need to change cooling power management to fit new hardware stuff like that which would cause long down time if needet to be done correctly with cable management



Farms just like this are being shutdown as we speak because they no longer make money.

In fact, the guy who's farm that's shown in the pic... Here's what it looks like today.

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/about-50ths-offline-youre-welcome-fellow-miners-813649





member
Activity: 77
Merit: 10
but how do those that are not manufacturers make money?
 a farm like this:

How about a panoramic?




That investment would never have been able to be able to pay back for the hardware and make a profit that is worth it.
How do they do it?? buy hardware then mine for some time and sell them on ebay overpriced?? thats how i did it when i was mining. however this is inefficient as u always would need to change cooling power management to fit new hardware stuff like that which would cause long down time if needet to be done correctly with cable management


They don't pay "retail" prices for mining equipment. They can get a significant discount on the hardware because it cost much less to produce miners then they are sold to retail customers. The mining manufacturers simply let the retail customers pay for the R&D via higher prices and preorders and let the corporate mining farms buy the miners at a discount as there are less logistical costs involved in selling to them (less salesmen, less shipping to various places, ect)

so the person who owns this farm would have gotten larger discount for the units? It still needs to be significant to cover all the hosting, maintenance and power to make a profit that is worth the investment and risk. so do u just email the manufacturer and ask for a discount for only 25 units ??
legendary
Activity: 1862
Merit: 1015
but how do those that are not manufacturers make money?
 a farm like this:

How about a panoramic?




That investment would never have been able to be able to pay back for the hardware and make a profit that is worth it.
How do they do it?? buy hardware then mine for some time and sell them on ebay overpriced?? thats how i did it when i was mining. however this is inefficient as u always would need to change cooling power management to fit new hardware stuff like that which would cause long down time if needet to be done correctly with cable management


They don't pay "retail" prices for mining equipment. They can get a significant discount on the hardware because it cost much less to produce miners then they are sold to retail customers. The mining manufacturers simply let the retail customers pay for the R&D via higher prices and preorders and let the corporate mining farms buy the miners at a discount as there are less logistical costs involved in selling to them (less salesmen, less shipping to various places, ect)
sr. member
Activity: 350
Merit: 250
Hi,
Was wondering how mining still can be profitable even with free power??
For example
the SP20 (1.7Th/s) goes for 1200$ and ships mid this month and will not earn the money back spent on the miner.
the antminer s4 (2 Th/s) goes for 1250$ and will not earn the money back spent on the miner.
how would this make a profit at all for larger mining companies and individuals?
Do they do special deals with the producers of the miners?
How do they still make money with overpriced hardware?
thanks



Obviously they don't pay 1200 dollars for the unit.  They, being the manufacturer, pay some small fraction of 1200 dollars for the unit.  They typically accept payment in advance for units (so there is little up front cost or risk to them), take the units and mine with them for a while, then deliver them to you when they are no longer profitable.  It's almost impossible for them to NOT make money. 
legendary
Activity: 4158
Merit: 8049
'The right to privacy matters'
but how do those that are not manufacturers make money?
 a farm like this:

How about a panoramic?




That investment would never have been able to be able to pay back for the hardware and make a profit that is worth it.
How do they do it?? buy hardware then mine for some time and sell them on ebay overpriced?? thats how i did it when i was mining. however this is inefficient as u always would need to change cooling power management to fit new hardware stuff like that which would cause long down time if needet to be done correctly with cable management



maybe this is a hosting farm in the state of Washington.  they pay 5 cents to a power company  and charge 10 cents to host.
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