1 of 23

Considerations for at Home Bitcoin Mining

​

​

​

​

Western Mass Bitcoin Meetup #9

​

2 of 23

The Basics

  • Bitcoin mining is a Proof of Work (PoW) service to the Bitcoin network
    • Process bitcoin transactions into blocks every ~10 minutes
    • Secure the history of bitcoin
  • Miners are paid via block reward (new bitcoin issued) + transaction fees
  • The block reward is halved every 210,000 blocks (~4 years) until block height 6,930,000 (~2140)

3 of 23

4 of 23

Inflation

  • United States Dollar (USD) Inflation
    • Do you know what the new supply of USD is spent on?
    • Who decides what to spend it on?
    • Did anyone ask you?

​

  • Bitcoin’s Inflation
    • Exponentially decreasing
    • Has 100% consensus to be used for exactly one thing
      • Temporarily subsidizing miners to pay for security and transaction processing

​

5 of 23

Economics of Mining

6 of 23

Miner Revenue (USD per kWh)

7 of 23

On-Grid Mining Across the US

8 of 23

Ok, but what about Rooftop Solar?

  • Personal Example (DYOR, Get your own estimate)

Initial Cost: $46,500

IRA Tax Credit: $-13,950 (-30%)

MA Tax Credit: $-1,000

Cost After Rebates: $31,550

Total Cost after Financing: $41,138 (4.99% 120 Months)

Total Capacity: 344,650 kWh (total over 24.5-year lifetime)

​

Average Electricity Price: $0.1164/kWh

9 of 23

Miner Revenue (USD) per kWh

10 of 23

Added Benefits of Mining at Home

  • No KYC Bitcoin
  • Decentralization and Distribution of Hashrate
  • Practice > Theory
  • ASICs can be Resold to those with Lower Electricity Costs
  • Solo Mining > Lottery
  • Alternative Home Heating

11 of 23

12 of 23

Home Heating Calculations (Massachusetts)

Massachusetts Home Heating Calculations

BTU/Unit

$/Unit

Heating Source

Higher is Better

138690

3.51

Oil

39513

BTU/$

3413

0.2619

Electric Heat (Resistance)

13032

BTU/$

3413

0.2217

Electric Heat (S9, 76 J/TH @950W)

15397

BTU/$

3413

0.1564

Electric Heat (S19, 29 J/TH)

21815

BTU/$

3413

0.1165

Electric Heat w/Solar (Resistance)

29306

BTU/$

3413

0.0762

Electric Heat w/Solar (S9, 76 J/TH @950W)

44776

BTU/$

3413

0.0111

Electric Heat w/Solar (S19, 29 J/TH)

309864

BTU/$

13 of 23

Takeaway

  • It’s really hard to get a positive ROI in bitcoin terms in Massachusetts

​

If you bought your ASIC with bitcoin…

and paid your electricity in bitcoin…

you will rarely mine enough to make it all back…

even if you heat your home with it in winter

​

  • Smash Buy + DCA is really hard to beat in Massachusetts

​

14 of 23

Bitcoin FUD �(Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt)��Bitcoin Mining Wastes Energy

​

​

​

​

Western Mass Bitcoin Meetup #9

​

15 of 23

Define “Waste”

16 of 23

Energy that would Otherwise be Wasted

  • Intermittent energy sources create excess energy above demand
    • Where does the extra energy go?
      • Dissipated by resistance over long distances = wasted
  • Bitcoin uses natural gas that would otherwise be inefficiently flared and wasted
  • What if there are more important uses for electricity?
    • Bitcoin mining is ONLY economical at very low electricity prices

17 of 23

Bitcoin is Valuable to Humanity

  • Economic freedom from authoritarian governments
  • Hard money that is easy to secure and transmit
  • Instant, free cross-border remittances
  • Censorship and seizure resistant
  • Improved grid reliability

18 of 23

Does Bitcoin Mining Produce CO2?

​

​

​

​

Western Mass Bitcoin Meetup #9

​

19 of 23

20 of 23

Thank you for letting me talk about bitcoin mining!

21 of 23

Current Topics in Bitcoin��Socratic Seminar

​

​

​

​

Western Mass Bitcoin Meetup #9

​

22 of 23

Socratic Seminar

  • The Socratic Seminar, also known as Socratic Dialogue, is rooted in the conversations the Greek philosopher Socrates (470–399 BC) had with his pupils
  • The Socratic method is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas

​

23 of 23

Socratic Seminar

​