How At Home Bitcoin Miners Reduce Costs As Crypto Sales Increase Energy

This brutal winter of cryptocurrency has already claimed billions of companies as victims – but it also makes life much tougher for fans who mine bitcoin from their spare room or garage.

These hobbyists, who would normally use GPU rigs to pull in cryptocurrencies worth hundreds of dollars a month, have seen their profits plummet and their costs rise in a hell of 2022.

Chris Vega and Michael Carter, who between them have two decades of experience in extracting bitcoin and giving advice to others, told Insider how American society copes with it.

“It’s easier for homeworkers to be innovative than large companies, because they have lower costs,” Carter said in a recent interview.

“Hobbyists are the ones who innovate and try new techniques to cut costs.”

Bitcoin has plunged more than 70% from its highest level in November, while electricity prices – a major entry cost for power-intensive mining – are rising worldwide due to the energy crisis.

Individual miners can not hope to control the price of bitcoin. But they can get creative to manage their electricity bills.

Some American miners at home are moving to take advantage of lower energy prices, according to Vega and Carter.

Electricity costs are set to increase another 5% in the US this summer, according to government figures. But it masks a huge variation between states, with the US Chamber of Commerce estimating an increase of 16.4% in New England, but only an increase of 2.4% in the southwest.

“A lot of Americans are moving to another state because electricity is cheaper there,” Carter said. “When there’s one

bear market

you tend to see a lot of migration from bitcoin miners. “

Some crypto miners are even considering switching to renewable energy sources to cut electricity costs, the two said.

Florida-based Vega said he had heard of miners turning to solar energy, while Carter said some in the Midwest moved to states like Illinois or Missouri to take advantage of wind power there.

“There are many incentives to use renewable energy here in the United States,” Carter said. “If you set up large solar panels, you can get half of it paid for by the government, which can really help miners cut costs.”

In addition to providing free advice on YouTube, Carter – who runs a major mining business in St. Louis, Missouri – advises major mining companies in the Midwest on how to optimize their setup.

In the home mining world, however, there are some who sell old equipment to raise capital. On used sites like eBay, potential crypto miners can pick up rigs for as little as $ 300.

Many years of hobbyists will probably experience selling their equipment as a painful prospect, said Vega and Carter, but those who first bought rigs in last year’s run-up to market heights may be looking for a quick way out of crypto.

“Many people in the mining area do not want to sell their hardware,” technical fanatic Vega told Insider.

“Sellers tend to be newcomers who came into space when bitcoin was at its record high, buying a lot of hardware at ridiculously high prices.”

Vega began extracting crypto as a teenager and attended LAN parties. He told Insider that his first attack involved him and his friends “getting a bunch of laptops and piggybacking on Grandma’s Wi-Fi.”

Both he and Carter are well positioned to see society’s suffering right now. But both expect hobbyists to survive the current crypto-downturn if they can cut their costs.

“The mining scene is full of individuals who bring a unique style to the industry,” Vega said. “I believe – and hope – that the grassroots individual will continue to win.”

Read more: How to extract cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ether: Your complete guide to technical setup, profits and risks involved